FEASIBILITY AND DECARBONIZATION POTENTIAL OF BATTERY-ELECTRIC FERRIES IN INDONESIAN ARCHIPELAGIC SHORT-SEA TRANSPORT

Abstract

Battery-electric ferries offer a potential route to lower emissions on predictable, short-sea services, but their feasibility depends on vessel power requirements, charging time, electricity carbon intensity and capital costs. This paper develops a preliminary sizing and emissions-comparison framework for Indonesian inter-island corridors. Port-statistics publications from Statistics Indonesia for 2021–2024 are identified as the proposed secondary-data sources, while the route and technology figures provided in the authors’ draft are treated as provisional model inputs pending verification against primary tables and engineering records. The analysis separates propulsion and auxiliary loads, usable battery energy, shore-charging constraints and electricity-related emissions. Illustrative comparisons show the direction of the potential decarbonization benefit when the electricity supply becomes less carbon-intensive. Because vessel duty-cycle data, source-table extracts, battery quotations and detailed capital-cost inputs were not supplied, the current calculations cannot establish a verified fleet-level reduction rate or project payback period. The framework therefore supports subsequent corridor-specific feasibility studies rather than a final investment decision.