Singapore is the large island (50kms east-west x 25kms north-south) at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. Its geographical position has made it the key port in Southeast Asia and a crossroads for major east-west shipping routes.
It is by far the busiest transhipment port in the world and a close second only to Shanghai in total containers shipped each year. As such, the waters around Singapore are well patrolled and the movement of all vessels is closely monitored by the Singapore Marine and Ports Authority (MPA).
This island state is the most developed in the region, with excellent facilities, communications, public transport, recreational activities and international travel connections.
Embassies or consulates of all nations can be found in the city, which is a modern, vibrant multi-cultural nation state with all the facilities a sophisticated visitor would expect – including the price.
Every kind of yacht equipment and spare part is readily found here and good shipyard facilities exist in the western, Jurong and Tuas areas.
Singapore regulations
Ships documents and a valid passport for all crew members must be on board.
Most international visitors will automatically get a two week visa on entry. The initial visa is renewable for a further two weeks and it is possible to obtain extensions for up to 90 days.
Private vessels may be moored in Singapore for long periods as entry visas apply to individuals only.
Checking in and out of Singapore by visiting yachts is done at sea. Two designated open sea CIQ clearance anchorages may be used.
There have been reports of Marine and Port Authority of Singapore MPA vessel transit checks in the Singapore Straits. We suggest transiting the Straits from east-west on the Singapore side (outside of Singapore port limits) and west-east on the Indonesia side (flying the appropriate courtesy flag in both jurisdictions).
South of Singapore we suggest correct Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) on the starboard side of the shipping channels in either direction crossing perpendicular in the permitted areas marked clearly in the charts.
Security has been substantially increased in Singapore waters with the introduction of a number of fast patrol boats strategically located on the edge of the exclusion zone and especially within the Johor Straits east and west of the road transit ‘Causeway’ between Malaysia and Singapore.
For full details of officially notified entry procedures, cruising permits and transponder requirements, go to Singapore regulations.
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru (abbreviated as JB) is the capital city of southernmost Malaysian state, Johor. The sprawling city is separated from the island nation of Singapore by the Johor Straits east and west of ‘The Causeway’ at Woodlands Immigration Checkpoint.
The Malaysian government has earmarked the entire south coast of Johor (renamed Iskandar) into five economic zones for infrastructure development. For visiting yachts the western side of the Johor Straits offers superb shelter at Puteri Harbour Marina and further up the Straits, closer to JB city is the Country Garden condo development with half a dozen berths.
On the east of The Causeway, and only accessible from the east Johor Strait, is the new Senibong Cove 50-berth marina. Around the top of the Singapore reclaimed island Pulau Tekong is Tanjung Belunkor and east of the same island is Tanjung Pengileh. Both are Customs, Immigration, Quarantine (CIQ) international ferry ports with small limited berth marina facilities.
Around the southeast corner of Johor, and 10 miles north up the east coast, is the 4,000 acre luxury Desaru Coast Development with its 17 km of coastline. Recently opened offerings include The Hard Rock Hotel, Westin with convention centre, One and Only Desaru, 27-hole Ernie Ells golf course, 18-hole VJ Singh golf course, The massive Desaru Adventure Waterpark and the Riverside Food and Beverage entertainment centre. Currently under construction is the Desaru Coast CIQ Ferry Terminal with intended fast connections to Singapore, Bintan and Batam.
Desaru Coast is part of the Johor and Malaysian governments’ economic drive to rebrand this area as the new luxury fully integrated holiday and family fun benchmark destination.
The Senai Airport is connected by superhighways from The Causeway, Singapore’s 2nd Link and JB city. The Senai Desaru Expressway (SDE) provides fast toll-road access to the Johor Premium Outlets Shopping Centre, Desaru Coast to the east and Iskandar’s Puteri Harbour and Legoland theme parks to the south.
A mile to the west of the Tuas 2nd link CIQ is the fast-appearing and massive 10-square-kilometre ‘Forest City’ reclamation development, with plans for three marinas and an international CIQ ferry terminal. A mile north of ‘Forest City’ is the busy Tanjung Pelepas commercial container and shipping port.
With the continued fast tracked economic development of Johor Bahru, expect more features and facilities for cruising yachts to come on line within the next two decades.
Johor anchorage ‘D’, Senibong Cove (looking north) | Photo by Bill O’Leary
RAPID at Pengarang
Departing east from Pengileh, keep well clear of the dredging hardware associated with the new refinery reclamation works.
At the time of writing the Malaysian oil and gas company, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) is near completion of their the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development project (RAPID).
The Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) is about 20,000 acres and houses oil refineries, naphtha crackers, petrochemical plants, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal and a regasification plant.
When fully completed in 2020 it will produce 14 million tons of petroleum and petrochemical products annually. No need to ask which industry drives growth in the Johor region…
Batam
Across the Singapore Straits on the Indonesian island of Batam (about 12 miles), is Nongsa Point Marina which is often used by cruising yachts as a lower cost alternative to Singapore. Regular ferry services operate between Batam and Singapore from Harbour Front and Tanah Merah Ferry Terminals.
Funtasy Island 01°07.807N, 103°52.789E
Funtasy Island is an Indonesian multi-island residential development close to Batam. It is just 10 miles south of Harbour Front Singapore and a mile west of Sekupang Ferry Terminal on Batam.
The CIQ Ferry Terminal linking direct to Singapore has been delayed getting MPA route approvals, so ferries from Harbour Front Singapore must check first into Indonesia at Sekupang, then Funtasy Island owners and guests are taken over by speed boat.
There were originally plans for a 140-berth marina but these have recently been deleted from the website. However, as the development comes online, we’ll continue to update. For now we recommend enter the 250-metre-wide channel between the reefs from the west and anchor at 1°08.017N, 103°52.303E in 5 metres adjacent the new CIQ building to use their floating pontoon.
Envisioned to be the world’s largest eco-theme parks, Funtasy Island is spread over 328 hectares on six islets and will be multi-phased over the next 10 years. Amongst the many residential options will be elevated nature trails, aquaculture, shopping, dining and entertainment for everyone in the Wave Promenade.
There’s a lot of references to playing with semi-captive dolphins in their marketing… www.funtasyisland.com
Anchorages in Singapore, Johor Bahru & Batam
>>> Click herefor a complete list of anchorages in Southeast Asia Pilot.
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While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate, the charts of anchorages are based on personal experience and satellite imagery and are intended as a guide only. They should not be used for navigation. Please refer to Official Hydrographic Charts of the respective countries.
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