Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map 2025 launched at the Singapore Maritime Week
Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Mr Heng Swee Keat launched the Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025 at the Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) 2022, organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), according to MPA's release.
First launched in 2018 by MPA in partnership with the industry, unions, and other government agencies, the Sea Transport ITM builds on MPA’s strategic long-term plans to develop Singapore’s Next-Generation Port and strengthen our International Maritime Centre (IMC). The Sea Transport ITM laid out strategies to catalyse innovation, drive productivity improvements, and enhance the skills of the maritime workforce. These strategies were driven with the collective commitment of stakeholders such as MPA, the industry, and tripartite partners.
The Sea Transport ITM has been refreshed to update our strategies to address the challenges and seize new opportunities from the COVID-19 pandemic and shifts in global supply chains. The industry can look forward to increased opportunities in physical and digital connectivity for resilience, technological advancements, and the global efforts for the green transition of the maritime sector. It is also the first of the 23 sectoral ITMs to be refreshed, under the ongoing ITM 2025 efforts led by the Future Economy Council.
A key aim of the ITM is to grow the sector’s value-add by $2 billion, or an average rate of 2-3% annually, between 2020 and 2025.
The Sea Transport sector is core to the larger Singapore maritime cluster, with extensive interlinkages through maritime technology (MarineTech), ship finance, maritime law and arbitration. It is a vital enabler for trade and economic activities in sectors such as manufacturing, wholesale trade, and logistics. Globally, the maritime sector is the backbone for trade and moves more than 80% of the global goods across the world.
In the years following the launch of the Sea Transport ITM in 2018, the sector has made significant progress. Pasir Panjang Terminal Phases 3 & 4 were fully operationalised, adding an additional 15 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handling capacity to the Port of Singapore. To drive digitalisation and enhance productivity, MPA launched Phase 1 of digitalPORT@SG™ to streamline up to 16 regulatory applications into an integrated port clearance service, and the Sea Transport Industry Digitalisation Plan (IDP) for small and medium (SMEs) enterprises to adopt digital technologies. The launch of the Maritime Transformation Programme has deepened maritime research and development (R&D) capabilities in niche technology areas, e.g. in maritime energy and sustainability, simulation and modelling of future port operations, and development of autonomous ships. To support the maritime workforce, the Professional Conversion Programme (Sea Transport) was launched and trained 160 mid-careerists to join the sector.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the current geopolitical uncertainties, the Sea Transport sector has remained resilient. In 2021, our IMC attracted 23 companies to expand or set up operations in Singapore, and Singapore’s container throughput achieved a record 37.5 million TEUs, an increase from 36.9 million TEUs in 2020.
Going forward, the Sea Transport sector is poised to see major transformation given opportunities arising from global supply chain shifts, digitalisation and decarbonisation. The Sea Transport ITM 2025 will focus on the following four strategies, elaborated in the subsequent paragraphs (and with key targets underlined):
• Strategy 1: Ensure Relevance and Resilience of MaritimeSG as Key Node in Global Supply Chains
• Strategy 2: Build a Vibrant Innovation Ecosystem and Actively Develop New Growth Areas
• Strategy 3: Support Maritime SMEs and Start-ups to Grow into Global Champions
• Strategy 4: Develop a Future-Ready Maritime Workforce Equipped with Global Skillsets
The Maritime Industry Transformation Tripartite Committee (MITTC) has been established to spearhead industry transformation of the Sea Transport Sector and contribute to the ITM’s 2025 ambitions. It comprises six representatives across the industry, unions and the government – PSA Corporation, Jurong Port Private Limited (JP), the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF), the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union (SMOU), and MPA., The MITTC will be co-chaired by Mr Hor Weng Yew, Chairman of SMF, and Ms Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of MPA.