Dalaray Electric Ferries
The Philippines has moved a locally designed Dalaray electric passenger ferry into regular public service.
The M/B Dalaray now carries passengers along the Pasig River in Metro Manila. It operates scheduled trips between the Guadalupe ferry station in Makati and the Escolta station in Manila from Monday through Saturday.
That matters.
Dalaray is no longer just a launch-day demonstration or technology showcase. Instead, it now serves as a working part of the region’s public transportation system.
More importantly, the project shows why electric mobility cannot stop with passenger cars. The same mission-based approach can work for buses, delivery vehicles, trains, ferries and other forms of transportation.
In this case, the battery does not need to chase maximum range. It needs to match the route.
A ferry running a predictable schedule can recharge around a known operating cycle. Therefore, engineers can size the battery around actual energy demand instead of adding unnecessary capacity.
That can reduce weight, cost and material use while still delivering dependable service.
The Dalaray also demonstrates a larger point. Electrification works best when designers match the technology to the job.
Pasig River Daleay Electric Ferry
For the Pasig River, that means moving people quietly, efficiently. That’s especially and essentially without relying on a conventional diesel-powered drivetrain for every trip.
A Filipino electric ferry built for a real route
The M/B Dalaray began as a research and development project in 2024. Engineers at the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute developed the vessel with funding from the Philippine Department of Science and Technology.
DOST provided support through its Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development, or DOST-PCIEERD.
The Dalaray project also brought together:
- The University of the Philippines Diliman
- DOST and DOST-PCIEERD
- The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority
- The Maritime Industry Authority
The Dalaray ferry launched in October 2025. Then, by March 2026, DOST-PCIEERD confirmed that the vessel had entered passenger service on the Pasig River. The MMDA turned over the vessel for operation that same month.
Moving Forward
The name Dalaray refers to a stream or current. It describes both the flow of water and the flow of electricity.
That name fits the project well. The ferry moves along an urban waterway while using electric current to power its propulsion system.
M/B Dalaray specifications
Dalaray uses a 13-meter, or roughly 43-foot, aluminum catamaran hull. The boat weighs about 17 tons.
Its key specifications include:
| Specification | M/B Dalaray |
|---|---|
| Hull | Aluminum catamaran |
| Length | 13 meters |
| Weight | 17 tons |
| Passenger capacity | 40 passengers |
| Crew | 3 |
| Battery | 160 kWh lithium-ion |
| Electric motors | Two 50 kW AC motors |
| Cruising speed | 8 knots |
| Range | More than 45 kilometers |
| Full recharge | Approximately 2–3 hours |
The ferry was built at a shipyard in Navotas, within Metro Manila. That detail matters. The Philippines did not simply import a finished electric boat. Filipino engineers designed the vessel, and a local shipyard built it.
Dalaray also carries solar panels. However, it is fundamentally a battery-electric ferry, not a solar-powered boat.
Powerful For an Electric Ferry
The solar system supplies auxiliary loads such as lighting and air conditioning. The main propulsion comes from the 160 kWh battery and two electric motors.
That distinction is important because electric transportation claims often blur the difference between solar assistance and solar propulsion.
Dalaray is clearly the right-sized battery lesson
Dalaray does not need to travel hundreds of miles. It operates on a predictable urban route. It also returns to terminals where charging equipment is available.
Therefore, the ferry does not need a massive battery designed for journeys it will never make.
Charging stations have been installed at:
- Escolta in Manila
- Guadalupe in Makati
- Napindan in Pasig
A full charge takes about two to three hours. The vessel can travel more than 45 kilometers at an 8-knot cruising speed.
This is the same principle we apply across the electric transportation sector: size the battery to the mission, not to the anxiety.
A delivery tricycle making repeated urban stops does not need the battery of a long-distance truck. A regional battery train does not need to carry enough energy for an entire national rail network. Likewise, an urban ferry should not carry a heavy battery for ocean-crossing range.
Our coverage of the RegioPanter battery train and its diesel-saving mission explores a similar idea on rails.
Lower energy costs than diesel
The project team reports an energy operating cost of approximately 45 Philippine pesos per kilometer.
A conventional diesel ferry, by comparison, costs about 130 to 135 pesos per kilometer in energy.
That puts the electric ferry’s energy cost at roughly one-third of the diesel alternative. The dollar conversion depends on exchange rates and operating assumptions, but the Philippine peso comparison makes the main point clear.
These figures cover energy costs only. They do not represent total cost of ownership.
They do not include the complete purchase price, financing, insurance, crew, charging infrastructure, maintenance, or future battery replacement. A prototype can also absorb engineering costs that a mass-produced vessel cannot.
Still, the energy savings could add up quickly for a boat making repeated daily trips.
Electric motors also offer other benefits. Dalaray produces no direct exhaust emissions while operating. It should also be dramatically quieter than a diesel ferry.
That means a better experience for passengers and for communities along the river.
Moving people without adding cars
Metro Manila has some of the world’s most difficult urban traffic conditions. Every passenger who travels by ferry instead of by car, taxi, or road-based bus can help reduce pressure on crowded streets.
The Pasig River passes through one of the most densely populated areas of the capital region. It connects communities, business districts, schools, and tourist destinations.
However, the river has often functioned more as a boundary than as a transportation corridor.
Dalaray points toward a different future. Clean ferries could help turn the river into a practical part of the city’s public transit network.
The benefits could include:
- Fewer vehicles on congested roads
- Lower local air pollution
- Reduced diesel consumption
- Less noise along the river
- More transportation choices for commuters
- New opportunities for clean river tourism
The project also connects transportation with watershed protection. A cleaner ferry fleet can support wider efforts to restore the Pasig River and protect the waterways that serve Metro Manila.
An electric ferry could help after a disaster
Dalaray has another role beyond routine transportation.
DOST Secretary Renato Solidum has argued that the Pasig River could provide an alternative transportation corridor after a major earthquake or other disaster.
A severe earthquake could damage roads, bridges, and rail lines. In that situation, the river and nearby Laguna Lake could offer another way to move people, emergency supplies, and responders.
Earlier Metro Manila earthquake-resilience planning considered the Pasig River and Laguna Lake as possible alternative routes.
That makes the ferry a climate and disaster resilience project as well as a clean transportation project.
A resilient transportation system needs options. It cannot depend on one road network or one type of fuel. Electric ferries could provide another layer of mobility when the usual routes fail.
The prototype question remains
Dalaray is an important achievement. However, one successful prototype does not prove that an entire fleet will be affordable or reliable.
The next phase should focus on operational data.
Operators and researchers need to track:
- Electricity use on each trip
- Energy consumption with different passenger loads
- Charging frequency
- Charging-station operating costs
- Battery performance over repeated cycles
- Motor and drivetrain maintenance
- Weather and river-condition impacts
- Downtime and schedule reliability
- Long-term battery replacement costs
That data will show whether the design can move from research project to repeatable commercial product.
The next ferry may need a lower-cost hull, standardized electrical systems, and simpler maintenance procedures. It may also need charging equipment that can support several vessels without creating new grid constraints.
Those details are less exciting than a launch ceremony. They are more important, though.
A strong fit for an island nation
The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands. Boats already connect communities that roads cannot reach.
That creates a large potential market for electric water transport. Possible applications include:
- Urban river ferries
- Short island connections
- Inland waterway services
- Resort and tourism routes
- School and community transport
- Harbor shuttles
- Disaster-response vessels
Electric propulsion will not fit every route. Long-distance or high-speed services may need different technologies. Charging access, battery weight, weather, water conditions, and passenger demand will all matter.
Even so, many short routes have the same characteristics that make Dalaray practical: predictable schedules, regular terminal stops, and access to shore power.
The Philippines may therefore become an important laboratory for electric boats. If locally built electric ferries can operate reliably in Metro Manila, the lessons could apply to island and coastal communities around the world.
One ferry is proof of concept. A fleet is proof.
The M/B Dalaray shows that the Philippines can design and build its own electric passenger vessel.
It also demonstrates that electrification can move beyond imported cars, motorcycles, and buses. Local engineering capacity matters. Local manufacturing matters. And public transportation projects can support both cleaner air and stronger domestic innovation.
Yet the hard work continues.
The real measure of success will come from daily service data. If the ferry delivers reliable operation, lower energy costs, manageable maintenance, and strong passenger service, the country can build a case for more vessels.
For now, Dalaray is a working experiment on a real river.
One electric ferry is proof of concept.
A fleet would be proof that the concept works.
Conclusion: Dalaray Shows What Comes Next
The M/B Dalaray proves that electric transportation can work far beyond the automobile.
More importantly, the Philippines designed and built this ferry for a real transportation need. It was not engineered to chase an impressive range number. Instead, its battery, motors and charging strategy match a predictable urban route on the Pasig River.
That is exactly how electrification should work.
A city bus needs a battery designed around its route. A delivery vehicle needs enough energy for its daily workload. A train needs power matched to the corridor it serves. Likewise, an electric ferry needs enough battery capacity to move passengers reliably between terminals and recharge when the schedule allows.
Dalaray also represents something bigger for the Philippines. Local engineers developed the vessel. A local shipyard built it. Now passengers are actually riding it. That connects clean transportation with domestic engineering, manufacturing and public transit investment.
Of course, one ferry does not create a transportation revolution. Long-term reliability, maintenance costs, battery durability and passenger demand still matter.
However, Dalaray has already crossed an important line. It moved from prototype to public transportation.
One electric ferry proves the technology can work.
A fleet of them could help prove that clean, quiet electric transportation belongs on the water just as much as it belongs on the road.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Raymond Tribdino and CleanTechnica for reporting on Dalaray’s passenger service, and to the University of the Philippines Diliman, DOST-PCIEERD, the MMDA, MARINA, and the eMobility Philippines project team for making technical and operational information available. Their collaboration helps show how local engineering can support cleaner, quieter, and more resilient transportation.
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