\n<\/p>\n
The National Environment Agency (NEA) will launch a two-year pilot ferry service for the scattering of cremated remains at sea in the second half of 2027, it said on Monday (Oct 12).<\/p>\n
The pilot is being introduced in response to growing demand for ash scattering as the number of cremations in Singapore rises.<\/p>\n
“As Singapore\u2019s population ages, demand for after-death services is expected to grow,” the agency stated.<\/p>\n
The ferry service will operate weekly from Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal, under the management of an operator appointed by NEA.<\/p>\n
Multiple groups will be allowed to board each vessel for cost-effectiveness. A fee of $50 per application applies, NEA said.<\/p>\n
The agency will monitor uptake of the service and gather feedback to assess the service’s long-term viability.<\/p>\n
More details on the pilot ferry service, including the ash scattering site, booking arrangements and procedures, will be released ahead of its launch in 2027.<\/p>\n
The agency also shared that annual deaths are expected to increase from 26,500 in 2025 to about 40,000 by 2040.<\/p>\n
Currently, around 82 per cent of those who pass away in Singapore are cremated, with take-up of inland ash scattering growing since the option was introduced in 2021.<\/p>\n
The proportion of cremations where ashes were scattered at inland ash scattering facilities rose to about 12 per cent in 2025, up from about seven per cent in 2022.<\/p>\n
According to findings from the Study on Wake Spaces conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies at the National University of Singapore, around 42 per cent of respondents indicated a preference for ash scattering.<\/p>\n
As for the type of ash scattering, 27 per cent shared their preference for ash scattering at sea, while 15 per cent preferred utilising inland facilities.<\/p>\n
At present, the agency has been expanding capacity across government-managed facilities, such as the opening of The Garden of Serenity at Mandai North Crematorium in August 2025.<\/p>\n
The Garden of Serenity is Singapore’s second inland ash scattering facility.<\/p>\n
NEA deputy chief executive officer and director-general of public health Chew Ming Fai said that as needs and preferences evolve, the agency is committed to providing “more options for people making after-death arrangements for their loved ones”.<\/p>\n
“This pilot will make the scattering of ashes at sea more accessible, while allowing us to better understand demand and shape the service to meet their needs.”<\/p>\n
[[nid:746438]]<\/p>\n
khooyihang@asiaone.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
The National Environment Agency (NEA) will launch a two-year pilot ferry service for the scattering of cremated remains at sea in the second half of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/93043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}