Environmental challenges are some of the most critical facing the shipping industry today, according to Singapore Maritime and Port Authority chief executive Lam Yi Young, Schednet reports.
Speaking at the Sustainable Marine Transportation Conference 2011 in the Lion City that focused on the "Environmental Challenges For Shipping and Port Activities," Mr Lam said Singapore is acutely aware of the environmental impact of shipping given that more than 90 per cent of the world's trade are carried by ships.
"Protecting the marine environment and managing the environmental impact of shipping is thus something that we place priority on, even as we develop our port to meet the needs of our economy," he said.
The port of Singapore receives 130,000 vessel calls a year and the total gross tonnage of ships calling at Singapore reached 1.92 billion last year. In 2010, the port handled 500 million tonnes of cargo, including 28.4 million TEU of container traffic. Bunker sales totalled 40.9 million tonnes, the highest of any port in the world, a government statement said.
"Something that may not be that well known is that Singapore's waters, despite being home to one of the world's busiest ports, are also home to over 250 species of hard corals, a quarter of the world's species. We are also home to 31 true mangrove plant species, which is two-thirds of that found in Asia, and 12 of the 23 Indo-Pacific species of seagrass."
Mr Lam highlighted that Singapore has acceded to all six annexes of MARPOL Convention, the primary IMO instrument for the prevention of pollution from ships.
"We have also been working closely with other IMO member states to address the challenges of greenhouse gas emissions from ships. We contributed to the development of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Energy Efficiency Operational Indicator (EEOI), both measures intended to improve efficiency and reduce emission," said Mr Lam.
"Singapore firmly believes that the IMO is the most appropriate body to address the issue of greenhouse gas emissions from ships and will continue to work with the IMO and its member states to chart the way forwards on this issue," said Mr Lam.
Speaking at the Sustainable Marine Transportation Conference 2011 in the Lion City that focused on the "Environmental Challenges For Shipping and Port Activities," Mr Lam said Singapore is acutely aware of the environmental impact of shipping given that more than 90 per cent of the world's trade are carried by ships.
"Protecting the marine environment and managing the environmental impact of shipping is thus something that we place priority on, even as we develop our port to meet the needs of our economy," he said.
The port of Singapore receives 130,000 vessel calls a year and the total gross tonnage of ships calling at Singapore reached 1.92 billion last year. In 2010, the port handled 500 million tonnes of cargo, including 28.4 million TEU of container traffic. Bunker sales totalled 40.9 million tonnes, the highest of any port in the world, a government statement said.
"Something that may not be that well known is that Singapore's waters, despite being home to one of the world's busiest ports, are also home to over 250 species of hard corals, a quarter of the world's species. We are also home to 31 true mangrove plant species, which is two-thirds of that found in Asia, and 12 of the 23 Indo-Pacific species of seagrass."
Mr Lam highlighted that Singapore has acceded to all six annexes of MARPOL Convention, the primary IMO instrument for the prevention of pollution from ships.
"We have also been working closely with other IMO member states to address the challenges of greenhouse gas emissions from ships. We contributed to the development of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Energy Efficiency Operational Indicator (EEOI), both measures intended to improve efficiency and reduce emission," said Mr Lam.
"Singapore firmly believes that the IMO is the most appropriate body to address the issue of greenhouse gas emissions from ships and will continue to work with the IMO and its member states to chart the way forwards on this issue," said Mr Lam.