The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has issued Shipping Circular No. 7 of 2022 regarding a revision of the Green Ship Programme (GSP) for Singapore-flagged ships that will take effect from 1 May, 2022.
Green Ship Programme (GSP) for Singapore-flagged ships
This Circular serves to provide an update on the details of the Green Ship Programme (GSP) for Singapore-flagged ships, in view of the amendments to International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s MARPOL Annex VI Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) requirements which were adopted on 20 November 2020 and have entered into force on 1 April 2022 as well as the rising need to decarbonise the industry. The GSP is one of the four programmes under the Maritime Singapore Green Initiative (MSGI).
The key principle of the GSP is to reward ship owners who voluntarily adopt solutions that enable ships to exceed environmental regulatory standards set by the IMO. The GSP commenced on 1 July 2011 and based on the last revision in 2019, the GSP currently runs from 1 January 2020 until 31 December 2024.
With effect from 1 May 2022 until 31 December 2024, MPA will provide incentives to Singapore-flagged ships which:
- Exceed IMO’s MARPOL Annex VI Phase 3 EEDI requirements by 10% or more;
- Adopt engine capable of using low-carbon fuels with CF (conversion factor between fuel consumption and CO2 emission) equivalent to or lower than LNG (i.e. (bio)-LNG, (bio)-methanol, (bio)-ethanol); or
- Adopt engine capable of using zero-carbon fuels (e.g. ammonia, hydrogen).
Exceeding IMO’s MARPOL Annex VI EEDI requirement
A Singapore-flagged ship that exceeds the requirements of IMO’s MARPOL Annex VI Phase 3 EEDI by 10% or more will enjoy a 50% reduction on the Initial Registration Fees (IRF) under both normal registration and Block Transfer Scheme (BTS) during the registration of the ship. It will also enjoy a 20% rebate on Annual Tonnage Tax (ATT) payable every year. Details of the EEDI-related criteria and applicable ship types can be found in Annex B.
A ship that is already registered with the Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS) which adopts energy efficient ship design that exceeds the requirements of IMO’s MARPOL Annex VI Phase 3 EEDI by 10% or more can also take part in this programme, but will only enjoy the 20% rebate on ATT payable every year until 31 December 2024.
For registration anew scenarios, that is, those involving existing ships in the Singapore Registry, there is no 50% reduction on the registration anew fees for the new ship owner as this fee is not considered as IRF. However, the ship owner can still enjoy the 20% rebate on ATT if the ship qualifies under the GSP.
Use of Low-Carbon Fuels
A Singapore-flagged ship that uses LNG or fuels with CF (conversion factor between fuel consumption and CO2 emission) lower than LNG as its primary fuel will enjoy 75% reduction on the IRF and 50% rebate on the ATT.
Existing Singapore registered ships can also take part in this programme, but will only enjoy the 50% rebate on ATT payable every year until 31 December 2024. Please refer to Annex C for the list of fuels and their corresponding CF values.
Use of Zero-Carbon Fuels
The GSP will also recognise Singapore-flagged ships that use fuels with zerocarbon content (such as ammonia, hydrogen) as its primary fuel. These ships will enjoy 100% reduction on the IRF and 100% rebate on the ATT.
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Source: MPA
