Families who wish to scatter a loved one’s ashes at sea will have a new ferry service costing S$50 per application from the second half of 2027.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) announced the two-year pilot on 12 October 2026, CNA reported.
Weekly Departures From Pasir Panjang
An NEA-appointed operator will run the service weekly from Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal, carrying multiple groups on each vessel.
NEA told The Straits Times that an application covers up to six family members.
The agency will use demand and feedback during the trial to assess whether the service is viable in the longer term.
Details of the pilot’s ash-scattering site, booking process and procedures will be released before operations begin.
An Additional Option for Families
Scattering ashes at sea is already available in Singapore.
In a written parliamentary reply on 7 October, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said funeral service providers offer it at a designated site about 3.2km east of Raffles Lighthouse.
The new pilot will therefore provide another way for families to make these arrangements.
Families can also scatter ashes at NEA’s two inland facilities, where the booking fee is S$320.
The Garden of Peace at Choa Chu Kang Cemetery opened in May 2021. The second facility, the Garden of Serenity at Mandai North Crematorium, opened in August 2025.
At both gardens, families scatter cremated ashes in designated lanes. Other options include keeping ashes at home or in a columbarium niche, a compartment used to store an urn.
Inland Ash Scattering Has Become More Common
Fu’s parliamentary reply showed that inland ash scatterings rose from about 2,000 in 2023 to about 2,200 in 2024 and 2,500 in 2025.
Those figures represented approximately 9%, 10% and 12% of cremations in the respective years.
NEA said the ferry pilot responds to growing demand for ash scattering as cremation numbers increase.
Featured image: LN9267 via Wikimedia Commons
