Response to "Bring down CIQ costs for pleasure craft owners in Singapore" (The Straits Times, 7 January 2026)
The Straits Times
21 January 2026
Singapore’s CIQ arrangements designed to support safe, orderly vessel movements
We thank Mr Goh Ee Kiat for his letter, “Bring down CIQ costs for pleasure craft owners in Singapore” (Jan 7). In his letter, Mr Goh highlighted the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) cost that pleasure craft owners face, which can include the requirement for a security bond. Mr Goh also suggested that Marina South Pier (MSP) be used for CIQ clearance for pleasure craft.
Pleasure craft owners may transact directly with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on immigration procedures relating to the clearance of pleasure craft, or appoint an authorised agent to do so on their behalf. Authorised agents can play a role for pleasure craft owners in coordinating with relevant authorities and submitting crew and passenger manifests.
Owners may choose whether or not to engage an agent. For those who choose to transact directly with ICA, a security deposit is imposed as a safeguard to cover potential compliance risks, such as breaches of prevailing immigration laws and regulations. It will not be drawn down if the laws and regulations are fully complied with.
Apart from this, ICA does not impose any other fees on pleasure craft owners. On port clearance matters, Singpass holders may manage them directly through a DigitalPort account without the need for a licensed agent.
As for locations of CIQ facilities for pleasure craft, these are located at sites where there is regular demand and are configured based on the volume and profiles of their primary users. Their locations also take into account the need to ensure safe segregation of navigation routes for different vessel types.
For pleasure craft, CIQ clearance is conducted mainly at designated marinas at OneDegree15 Marina and Raffles Marina, which also supports craft waiting and layover requirements. MSP is used by domestic ferry services and harbour craft which support our port operations.
We will continue to design Singapore’s CIQ arrangements in ways that support safe, secure and orderly vessel movements in one of the world’s busiest ports, while making prudent use of our limited resources.
The Straits Times
7 January 2026
Bring down CIQ costs for pleasure craft owners in Singapore
I wish to highlight the high cost faced by owners of pleasure craft (boats used for sport, recreational or leisure purposes) when leaving and entering Singapore, and to urge the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to consider a more practical and affordable alternative.
Pleasure craft can clear Customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) only at a few designated private marinas. These marinas typically charge about $300 per clearance, purportedly to cover armed guards and the maintenance of CIQ working space. Pleasure craft owners must also engage a licensed agent at a cost of about $200 per clearance, unless they furnish a bank bond of $5,000 to ICA to act as their own agent.
As a result, a single outbound clearance costs about $500, and a simple weekend round trip to nearby destinations such as Batam or Bintan can cost up to $1,000 in clearance fees. This is prohibitively expensive.
Countries such as Indonesia and Thailand allow pleasure craft owners to complete CIQ procedures themselves, without engaging agents or renting private marina facilities, at costs amounting to only tens of Singapore dollars.
While ICA can conduct CIQ procedures at Marina South Pier (MSP), MPA does not permit pleasure craft to berth there for CIQ purposes, even though cruise ships are allowed to do so. Instead, pleasure craft owners who want to save on marina CIQ charges are required to charter water launches from private marinas to MSP, adding several hundred dollars to the process and nullifying the intended savings.
I suggest MPA consider allowing pleasure craft to berth at MSP for CIQ purposes, and that ICA let pleasure craft owners submit CIQ documentation directly without requiring a large bank bond. This would remove the need for costly third-party agents and marina fees.
Such changes would promote maritime tourism and benefit Singapore pleasure craft owners as well as visiting boats, and would bring Singapore’s CIQ practices in line with those of most other maritime nations.
Goh Ee Kiat