Environmental Protection
With a fleet of around 100 vessels, we place priority in ensuring that our vessel operations have minimal impact on the environment. We have put in place initiatives aimed at reducing the carbon emissions from our operations.
Centre for Maritime Efficiency (CME)

Formerly known as the Global Fleet Monitoring Centre, CME was set up as part of PIL’s overall energy management plan in line with the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) that came into force on 1 January 2013.

The objectives of the CME are to:

  • Reduce our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission footprint as part of our commitment to the environment, as well as in compliance with regulatory requirements
  • Enhance our fleet safety and security
  • Maximisation of cost-effectiveness through efficient traffic and route-based management of PIL’s fleet
  • Provision of more training berths for our seafarers and creating a bridge for a ship-to-shore career path

CME plays an important role in reducing our carbon footprint and in further enhancing our operational capabilities by engaging PIL group employees both on shore and at sea.

Eco-Efficient Technologies for Vessels
1. Newbuilding Vessels
In early 2022, we placed an order for four 14,000 TEU container vessels which will be equipped with dual fuel engines and auxiliaries which can run on both LNG or low sulphur fuel oil. The vessels will be delivered progressively from the second half of 2024 onwards. The four vessels will also be equipped with ammonia intermediate ready fuel tank which makes it possible to retrofit the vessels to run on ammonia when the technology is commercially available.
2. Biofuel Trial
We have also started to conduct trial use of marine biofuel on our existing fleet of ships. The first trial was conducted on our vessel “Kota Megah” when the vessel called at the port of Singapore in early April 2022. The aim of such trials is to test the feasibility of using marine biofuel on the engines of our vessels, and to obtain first-hand data on the potential carbon and other emissions. This would enable us to better assess the technical and commercial viability of using biofuel as a potential “drop-in” fuel solution to achieve the overall reduction in carbon emissions of our vessels.
3. Bulbous Bow Optimisation
PIL has applied bulbous bow optimisation mechanism on our vessels for better fuel efficiency. The bulbous bow, which looks like a “bulb”, is designed for the operational profile of the vessel for both full and part load. The wave generated by the bulb interferes with the wave system of the ship and reduces the wave height and size, which equates to lesser fuel oil consumed for the same amount of work done.
4. Anti-Fouling Paint
Anti-fouling paint forms part of the efficient technology line-up that PIL utilises to be more environmentally friendly. It is used to coat the bottoms of ships to prevent sea life such as algae and molluscs from attaching themselves to the hull, thereby slowing down the ship and increasing fuel consumption.
5. Propeller Boss Cap Fins (PBCF)
The PBCF is a propeller modification to reduce cavitation and improve wake flow. The design helps to eliminate hub vortex as downward flows after the blades are blocked by the fins of PBCF. This will increase the thrust and reduces shaft torque, thereby improving propeller efficiency. PIL has installed this energy saving device on numerous vessels, and collectively they helped to lower our carbon emissions.
6. Cold Ironing (Alternate Maritime Power, AMP)
PIL utilises cold ironing or AMP to provide shore electrical supply to its vessels while at berth. This allows the generators of the vessels to be switched off while at berth. With this, the vessels do not consume fuel and do not emit any greenhouse gases when they are berthed alongside at ports.
7. Predictive Maintenance for Turbochargers

PIL is collaborating with researchers and service providers such as ARTC, A*Star and TruMarine, to develop a predictive maintenance programme aimed at preventing premature failure of the equipment and to extend the time between overhauls of the equipment. This results in safer and smoother operation of vessels, as well as savings in operating costs due to less downtime and use of spares.

The key feature of the programme is the installation of a set of high temperature accelerometer and low temperature accelerometer on the turbo chargers of main and auxiliary engines. All the data gathered are then sent across through IoT devices for live monitoring and analysis.

8. Regenerative Deck Cargo Crane and Winches

On PIL’s geared ships which are fitted with electric powered deck crane, all the crane movements are driven by electric motors, and is connected to frequency converters which allow stepless speed control of the motors for each electrical circuit. The converters are connected to a special filter which eliminates harmonics and disturbances that may occur during operation.

These fully electric deck machineries are regenerative. They produce power when their loads are lowered, and this power is used for the ship’s electrical grid. Hence, power demand is reduced and hydraulic leakages are eliminated. Energy consumption is reduced by up to 50% during operation. Vessels which are equipped with such regenerative deck cargo cranes and winches, the overall energy consumption would be lower compared to other conventional cranes and winches.

9. Preventing Water Pollution

At PIL, we strive to minimise the pollution of the oceans by adopting established industry initiatives, such as air seal system and ballast water treatment.

Air seal systems are used on the stern tube of our ships, thereby sealing the stern tubes well to prevent oil leakages which may cause water pollution. Apart from applying such air seal systems on stern tubes, we also install bow thrusters with environmentally acceptable lubricant seals.

We are also installing ballast water treatment on all our vessels to comply with the Ballas Water Management Convention. The aim of ballast water treatment is to eliminate invasive marine species, as ballast water is one of the major pathways for the introduction of non-indigenous marine species when ships release ballast water at a new port-of-call. This can result in a variety of harmful effects, such as microbial exposure, lower habitat quality, and other dangers that can ultimately harm fishing and even protected species in the various regions.

Reducing Sulphur Emissions

In vessel operations, sulphur (SOx) is produced during combustion. This substance is harmful to human health and will lead to the formation of acid rain. As such, as part of our commitment to ensure the health and wellbeing of our employees, all vessels in our fleet employ methods to reduce SOx emission.

In addition, the IMO has stringent regulations in place which mandates the usage of fuel oil with less than 0.5% sulphur content from January 2020.

We are working to ensure full compliance by using fuel oil with sulphur content which is less than 0.5%, and in some areas, we would use fuel oil with sulphur content which is less than 0.1% as required by the local authorities.

Apart from ensuring the use of the appropriate types of fuel oi, we also supplement such efforts with abatement technology known as scrubber. The use of scrubber reduces the SOx in the exhaust stream to the equivalent of using low sulphur fuel oil ( < 0.5% sulphur content ).

To further strengthen our efforts to reduce sulphur emissions, we are seeking to use LNG as a transitional fuel for our fleet, as LNG’s SOx content is minute compared to conventional fuel oil.

Responsible Ship Recycling

PIL has attained the Statement of Compliance issued by the Hong Kong Convention for most of its vessels in the fleet for having an inventory of hazardous materials should the ships be sent for recycling. We are working towards having the entire fleet attaining this status.

The Hong Kong Convention (known as the International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships) was adopted at a diplomatic conference held in Hong Kong, China in May 2009. The Convention is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives, do not pose any unnecessary risks to human health, safety and to the environment.

The Hong Kong Convention intends to address all the issues around ship recycling, including the fact that ships sold for scrapping may contain environmentally hazardous substances such as asbestos, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, ozone-depleting substances and others. It also addresses concerns raised about the working and environmental conditions at many of the world's ship recycling locations.

Upon entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention, ships to be sent for recycling will be required to carry an inventory of hazardous materials, which will be specific to each ship. An appendix to the Convention provides a list of hazardous materials for which the installation or use of is prohibited or restricted in shipyards, ship repair yards, and ships of parties to the Convention. Ships will be required to conduct an initial survey to verify the inventory of hazardous materials, and to conduct additional surveys during the life of the ship, and a final survey prior to recycling. To date, the Hong Kong Convention has not been entered into force.

Environmental Management System

PIL has achieved the Environmental Management System certification to the ISO 14001:2015 standards for its fleet management and operations, awarded by Lloyd’s Register. This ISO standard has provided a global best practice framework for PIL to further enhance its capabilities in managing its environmental responsibilities arising from its fleet management and operations.

Apart from this ISO 14001:2015 standards, PIL’s fleet has attained the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) certification based on its on-going initiatives in driving operational and fuel efficiency.

Decarbonisation Target and Roadmap

PIL has pledged our strong commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, in support of the targets of the IMO’s Initial Strategy on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 2050.

To meet this target, we have formulated an early decarbonisation strategy. Apart from adopting appropriate environmental initiatives and eco-efficient technologies, we are pursuing the commercial adoption of transitional and alternative fuels such as LNG, ammonia, BioLNG and e-Methane.

We are also working to develop the necessary equipment and infrastructure by investing in LNG dual-fuel container vessels and ensuring that our vessels are compatible with bio-fuels.

Importantly, we are committed to contributing towards the global responsibility to seek and adopt new technologies which would enable the industry to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions ahead of 2050. In this regard, we are collaborating with and lending our support to the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GMCD) which was set up on 1 August 2021 with funding from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and six founding partners.