Going Green at Sea

15 Apr 2022

We don’t just look at having maritime security around the clock – sustaining such operations in a green manner is just as important.

In collaboration with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and industry partner Penguin International, our engineers delivered a patrol craft enhanced with green technologies to reduce fuel consumption and marine emissions. Dubbed ‘MPA Guardian’, the new hybrid diesel-electric patrol craft was commissioned at a ceremony on 8 April 2022 as part of the Singapore Maritime Week.

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From left: DSTA’s Director Naval Systems Ong Li Koon, MPA’s Chief Executive Quah Ley Hoon, and Penguin International’s Executive Chairman Jeffrey Hing at the MPA Guardian’s commissioning ceremony.

Meant to strengthen enforcement and emergency response capabilities, the vessel is equipped with long range and 360-degree cameras on the mast to improve the crew’s situational awareness during operations. It is also designed with a launch and recovery platform to deploy a smaller rigid hull inflatable boat for emergency missions such as oil spills. In addition, the vessel has the endurance and necessary sea-keeping capabilities for all-weather maritime security operations within Singapore’s territorial waters.

Our engineers provided not just their tech expertise but also adopted green technologies and solutions onto the vessel innovatively. These included the implementation of a hybrid diesel-electric propulsion to lower the overall fuel consumption of the vessel. The vessel’s hull form and propeller size were also remodelled and optimised to reduce fuel consumption during operations. In addition, the team adopted green solutions such as LED lightings for lower energy consumption, low solar absorption paint to reflect heat from the vessel, and an anti-fouling system to prevent marine growth and hull inefficiencies on the vessel.

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Programme Manager (Naval Systems) Tong Chang Yi with the commissioned MPA Guardian.

Programme Manager (Naval Systems) Tong Chang Yi shared that he and his teammates performed theoretical studies and simulations to calculate the vessel’s potential energy and fuel consumption. This allowed them to push boundaries for the vessel and maximise the use of green tech.

“With the vessel commissioned and ready for operations, we plan to continue gathering data to analyse the effectiveness of green solutions on board, so that we can determine the overall energy and fuel savings brought about by these solutions,” he said.

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The DSTA team aboard the MPA Guardian.

The commissioned vessel was also a good opportunity for young naval systems engineers who had recently joined DSTA to learn first-hand about the exciting work they would get to do. Through a specially organised visit, they got to learn more about the vessel’s capabilities and green features, and also went on a fun sail experience!

Engineer (Naval Systems) Shaun Tan shared that the learning journey was a refreshing experience. He said: “Through the tour, I learnt that the team worked around space constraints and designed configurable compartments creatively. One example is the adoption of a catamaran or double hull form design which expanded the vessel’s width while keeping to the same length. This design helped to expand the deck structure to create more space and also improved the vessel’s stability while operating at high sea states. It was interesting to learn how the team leveraged innovation and technology to improve MPA’s operations.”

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Engineers from Naval Systems Programme Centre got first dibs on a ride in the new vessel while learning more about its advanced and green features.

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