Resilience, digitalisation, decarbonisation and talent take centre stage at Singapore Maritime Week 2021

Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) 2021 was officially opened this afternoon by Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Transport, at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre. Held for the first time in a hybrid format, the theme for this year’s SMW is “New Frontiers, Shifting Paradigms”. The 15th Singapore Maritime Lecture and the 11th Singapore International Maritime Awards followed the Opening Ceremony of SMW 2021.

Now into its 15th run, SMW is the leading maritime event in the region, and offers a platform for the maritime community to discuss pertinent issues and explore solutions to advance the industry after a period of unprecedented challenges and opportunities brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Comprising a mix of 20 in-person and virtual conferences and forums, 6,000 delegates, including industry professionals, business leaders and government officials, are expected to attend SMW 2021. Held from 19 to 23 April 2021, the line-up of forums, dialogues and conferences will discuss the pace of digital transformation and decarbonisation efforts, as well as the need for a robust talent pool to meet future opportunities for the maritime industry.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Ong stressed that the maritime sector must constantly strive to stay relevant and do better in a post-pandemic world where the industry landscape will be reshuffled. He suggested four new frontiers for Maritime Singapore - resilience, digitalisation, decarbonisation, and talent.

Mr Ong also announced the launch of the Just-In-Time platform trials, as part of the digital Portal for One-Stop Regulatory Transactions (digitalPORT@SGÔ) Phase 2 development, and an industry consultation for the development of the Maritime Singapore Decarbonisation Blueprint 2050.

LAUNCH OF digitalPORT@SGÔ Phase 2 - JUST-IN-TIME MODULE - TO INCREASE PORT EFFICIENCY

The digitalPORT@SGÔ Phase 2, launched in conjunction with SMW 2021, includes a Just-In-Time (JIT) Planning and Coordinating Platform for port stakeholders such as ship owners, agents, terminal operators and marine service providers. This will enhance the turnaround time of ships calling at the Port of Singapore, increase port efficiency and reduce business costs.

The platform provides real-time information for port stakeholders to better coordinate, plan and allocate port resources, so that calling ships can optimise their sailing speed, route or time of arrival to achieve berth-on-arrival and seamless delivery of marine services in the port. Besides helping to reduce the carbon footprint and reduce turnaround time for ships calling at the Port of Singapore, the platform can support marine service providers to better manage their resources. Container liners such as COSCO Shipping Lines (Singapore), CMA CGM Group Asia Pacific, Maersk Group (Asia-Pacific region), Ocean Network Express (Singapore) and Pacific International Lines will be able to trial JIT services in 2Q 2021. Trials will also be extended to oil tankers and bunker carriers by the end of the year. When fully operationalised, this is expected to benefit more than 2000 maritime companies, and ships could shorten port stays by up to 1 day or more.

Stephane Courquin, Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM Asia Pacific Limited, who is participating in the trials, said, "As a pioneer user of digitalPORT@SGÔ, CMA CGM, a world leader in shipping and logistics,  has experienced more seamless vessel and port clearances that are managed by the various government offices via the single platform. Progressing into Phase 2 of the system, we are looking to tap more of its capabilities to further enhance our vessel operations and planning at the Singapore maritime port where an average of 28 vessels of the CMA CGM Group call each week."
 
To support the JIT system, an active anchorage management system will be developed by 2022 to optimise sea space and anchorage utilisation.

LAUNCH OF A MARITIME SINGAPORE DECARBONISATION BLUEPRINT 2050 CONSULTATION EXERCISE

MPA is developing the Maritime Singapore Decarbonisation Blueprint 2050 in partnership with industry stakeholders. The Blueprint will chart out decarbonisation strategies to mitigate Singapore’s maritime transport emissions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping. Mr Ong announced today the launch of a two-month consultation exercise to seek suggestions and views for the Blueprint. The consultation focuses on seven areas:

i. Port terminals
ii. Domestic harbour craft
iii. Future marine fuels and bunkering standards
iv. Singapore Registry of Ships
v. Efforts at the International Maritime Organization
vi. Carbon accounting awareness and capabilities
vii. Maritime decarbonisation research and development

Suggestions for the Maritime Singapore Decarbonisation Blueprint 2050 can be provided at https://www.mpa.gov.sg/web/portal/home/maritime-singapore/green-efforts/decarbonisation  by 18 June 2021.

SIGNING OF MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) BETWEEN DIRECTION DES AFFAIRES MARITIMES AND MPA

To further promote the strong maritime cooperation between Singapore and France, Ms Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of MPA, and His Excellency Mr Marc Abensour, Ambassador of France to Singapore signed an MoU on the sidelines of SMW. The MoU will promote and develop synergies between the French and Singaporean maritime ecosystems and covers areas such as digitalisation, sustainability, training and innovation.