SINGAPORE RUNS Y2K DRILLS

With the countdown to the end of the year drawing to a close, officials in all maritime related businesses are busily preparing for the coming, potential, problems to from the Y2K bug. Today, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) tested the first of several drills with a shipper involving Year 2000 (Y2K) preparations. The test aboard the Neptune Orient Lines' (NOL) APL Japan, a 64,500 gt container vessel, involved the mock failure of computer-aided functions such as engines, steering mechanisms and shipboard communications. The Port Authority of Singapore has spent an estimated $2.6 million on preparing its computer systems.