Starting November, the newest addition to the Pasig River Ferry Service (PRFS) will run on clean energy, as UP Diliman (UPD) launched the M/B (motor/banca) Dalaray, the first locally designed and fabricated battery-electric ferry in the Philippines.
The M/B Dalaray is a catamaran equipped with two 50-kilowatt electric motors and can carry up to 40 passengers, aside from up to five crew members. It was built by the UPD Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (EEEI) for the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) in partnership with the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Maritime Industry Authority.
According to the UP Diksyunaryong Filipino, “dalaray” means a stream or current, which can be used to describe both the flow of water and the flow of electrons in an electric current.
Built at a shipyard in Navotas, the M/B Dalaray runs on a 160-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery that can carry it over 45 kilometers at a cruising speed of 8 knots or nautical miles per hour. A solar battery system powers the auxiliary systems, such as interior lighting and air conditioning.
It is a vessel designed and built to fit the Pasig River Ferry Service, a public water bus service operated by the MMDA with 13 stations that run through the cities of Pasig, Makati, Mandaluyong, and Manila. Charging facilities were installed at three stations: Escolta in Manila, Guadalupe in Makati, and Napindan in Pasig.
M/B Dalaray is the end-product of Development, Prototyping, and Pilot Deployment of Electric Passenger Ferry for Inland Waterways, a project begun in 2024 by the EEEI’s e-mobility research and development group to produce an electrically-propelled ferry boat and build charging infrastructure.
According to project lead and EEEI Director Lew Andrew Tria, energy security and emission reduction were two of the primary reasons why the EEEI embarked on the project.
“Even sa mga islands natin, nararamdaman ng ating mga mangingisda iyong pagtaas ng presyo ng ating mga produktong petrolyo. Also, we are really affected by international price increases,” he said.
According to a 2024 report by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the transport sector accounted for some 30% of greenhouse gases produced in the country in 2020.
He said the PRFS and other river ferry systems like it are suitable for electrification, with their relatively short routes and constant access to the shore where charging stations can be placed.
“[W]e have a number of river system and it’s now being used either for if not for transportation, tourism. I’m sure most of us have ridden this river cruise in Loboc [in Bohol]. [M]araming mga river cruise around the Philippines. So the potential of a more eco-friendly transportation will be applicable in these types of river systems,” Tria noted.
The inauguration and demonstration was held on Oct. 6 at Plaza Mexico in Intramuros, where M/B Dalaray took attending officials on a short round trip around the area, passing beneath the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge before docking back safely. The demonstration was followed by a short program at Patio Victoria, also in Intramuros.
Speaking at the event, DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. said M/B Dalaray is proof of both Filipino ingenuity and capacity.
“With this project, we also hope to encourage more commuters to use our waterways instead of the roads. To see our rivers not just as boundaries, but as pathways for progress. Imagine cutting through traffic not by adding more cars but by reviving our rivers as clean efficient routes for daily travel. It even opens new opportunities for eco-friendly tourism, he said.
Tria said the M/B Dalaray is expected to begin operations by November.