Maritime Foundation News

The Singapore government has recounted the achievements of Maritime Singapore to date to highlight the nation’s successes as a maritime hub in 2023:Total business spending by key maritime companies overseen by MPA exceeded S$4.8 billion, up from S$4.3 billion in 2022. Twenty-five maritime companies established or expanded their operations in Singapore last year. These included maritime services companies and companies setting up sustainability desks in Singapore as part of their…

Chee Hong Tat, Singapore’s Acting Minister for Transport, announced a record year in 2023 at a Singapore Maritime Foundation New Year Conversations event.The annual vessel arrival tonnage in the Port of Singapore crossed three billion gross tonnage (GT) for the first time, increasing by 9.4% over 2022 and setting a high of 3.09 billion GT in 2023. This reflects growth in all segments, including container ships, dry bulk carriers, liquid bulk and chemical tankers, ferries and specialised vessels…

Zero emission is a nice idea, but who’s going to pay for it? The U.S. EPA is readying big money for zero emission ports.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working on two high-profile port initiatives that it hopes will move the needle in a big way towards U.S. ports’ zero emissions (ZE) operations and clean air goals.The first initiative started last May when EPA published a request for information and comments that would help the Agency develop Guidance it could use to evaluate funding requests for projects for zero-emission vehicles, port equipment and related infrastructure.

DNV has published a study co-sponsored by the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF), examining the key drivers transforming the maritime industry and their impact on ship management and seafarers.The study was officially handed to SMF Chairman Hor Weng Yew during the Nor-Shipping trade fair in Oslo.The research draws on a comprehensive methodology combining a literature review, expert consultations, and a survey of over 500 seafarers responsible for operating dry bulk, tanker, and container vessels globally.

The Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) has launched a Maritime Workforce Transformation Guidebook which offers a practical approach for companies in the maritime sector to embark on job redesign to better attract talent to the industry.The Guidebook is distilled from key findings of a job redesign pilot conducted in 2022 by SMF in partnership with Pacific Carriers Limited (PCL) Pacific International Lines (PIL). The pilot, which focused on the roles of a Technical Superintendent and a Vessel Operator…

Singapore's Ministry of Transport announced that Teo Eng Dih will take over as chief executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), succeeding Quah Ley Hoon, who will step down on September 5, 2022.Teo Eng Dih, currently Deputy Secretary (Policy) of the Ministry of Defense (MINDEF), is responsible for MINDEF’s defense policy and diplomacy, strategic and public communications, and Total Defense. He oversaw the expansion of defense cooperation with international partners and strengthening of collaborations at the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM) platform.

The American Caribbean Maritime Foundation (ACMF) announced it received a contribution of $150,000 from Mr. and Mrs. Roland Malins-Smith. Mr. Malins-Smith, now retired, is founder of SeaFreight Line Ltd. which was acquired by Crowley in 2015.The ACMF funds scholarships and provides grants for classrooms and other facilities at the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU).Malins-Smith, born in Grenada, began his career in 1970 researching shipping and transportation issues for the then Caribbean Free Trade Area (Carifta) Secretariat based in Georgetown Guyana.

In January and February the Maritime Disruptors Academy premiered when both students and employees in the shipping industry actively engaged on how to make the most of new technology and ways of thinking. Given that the entire Danish maritime cluster will be part of the change the next Academy, which runs in the autumn, will be open for participants across the cluster. Many new technologies knocks on the doors of the maritime sector. To name a few: Artificial Intelligence, robotics, Internet of Things, blockchain and 3D print, and they will all affect the maritime sector in the years to come. But how and when? And how can the shipping companies and other players in the market use it to create new business?

Dr Lam Pin Min, Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Health, launched the Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM) at the annual Singapore Maritime Foundation New Year Cocktail Reception. Developed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (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). Specific initiatives have been laid out under the Sea Transport ITM to catalyse innovation, drive productivity improvements, as well as enhance the skills of the maritime workforce.

On December 21, Rear Admiral Michael Alfultis, president of SUNY Maritime, signed two agreements setting SUNY Maritime College on a new course for success. The College and the Fort Schuyler Maritime Alumni Association are now partners for the benefit of the College, its students and its alumni. On the same day, the SUNY Maritime Foundation was launched publicly to support the College’s strategic initiatives, to expand its reach and to support its goal of developing additional resources.

The headquarters of the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) is now located in Korsør. Initially, the Danish Maritime Authority is established in temporary premises until the final domicile is ready. The Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs inaugurated the new headquarters of the Danish Maritime Authority. He was joined by the Mayor of the Municipality of Slagelse and the Director General and CEO of Danish Shipping as well as nearly 100 guests. With the relocation to Korsør, the Danish Maritime Authority has moved to a town with a solid maritime foundation close to one of the world’s most densely trafficked straits, the Great Belt, in which thousands of ships pass by every year. The new address of the Danish Maritime Authority is Fjordvænget 30, DK-4220 Korsør.

India's Eastern Naval Command Golden Jubilee Seminar with the theme “National Maritime Power - Concepts, Constituents and Catalysts”, concluded on 23 August 2017. The two-day seminar is jointly hosted by ENC in partnership with the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) was inaugurated at Samudrika Auditorium Visakhapatnam on 22 August 2017 by Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC  Chief of the Naval Staff. In the Inaugural session, the welcome address was delivered by Vice Admiral HCS Bisht, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command and Admiral RK Dhowan (Retd), former Navy Chief delivered the inaugural address. The Chief Guest for the event, Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff, delivered the keynote address.

Amid structural and cyclical changes brought about by over-capacity, mega-alliances, increasing digitisation, as well as economic and geopolitical uncertainties, Singapore remains a premier global hub port and leading international maritime centre that held steady growth in 2016. In the face of headwinds, Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) 2017 – organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) – will rally the global maritime industry for a week of discussions and networking to address critical issues impacting the regional and international maritime scene today. Into its 12th year, SMW will feature a record number of 34 events, including 20 business forums, eight networking receptions and six community outreach events.

Three New England projects have been awarded nearly two million dollars under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) competitive national grant competition to reduce diesel emissions. The grants, totaling $1,975,000, were made under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA). The funding will assist the Connecticut Maritime Foundation, the Massachusetts Port Authority and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in marine vessel repowering and vehicle replacement projects. Diesel engines contribute significantly to air pollution, especially in urban areas. The fine particles in diesel exhaust pose serious health risks, including aggravated asthma and other respiratory symptoms. Children are especially vulnerable to these effects.

The verdict at the 5th India Marine Salvage and Wreck Removal Conference of Hinode held this time in Mumbai last week was clear and unanimous. The presentations as well as the deliberations highlighted an upbeat atmosphere indicating the growing prospects for salvors on the India’s 7516 KM of coastline and in the surrounding area. The scenario depicts numerous options according to the presentations which brought out issues and insights that made prospects look bright in the coming months and with the monsoon round the corner, players could finally make it big. The introductory session underlined the fact that India became a signatory to International Convention of Wreck Removal Convention in 2010 and the convention has been in force from 14th April 2014.

OSV@Vivo has been taken to the heart of the Singapore public with an anticipated 4,000 visitors, expected to throng the two state-of-the-art Offshore Support Vessels (OSV) “Pacific Legacy” and “VOS Prince” moored at local shopping mall Vivocity Waterfront Promenade from 21 to 23 April 2016. Local institutes of higher learning are lending their support to this inaugural event with some 600 students from the Institute of Technical Education and Ngee Ann Polytechnic already registered to attend. This industry-led project, spearheaded by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) and held in conjunction with Singapore Maritime Week, is designed to create awareness of the offshore marine sector – a key sector in the Singapore maritime industry.

Playing an active role and making meaningful contributions to the workings and development of the Tripartite Maritime Manpower Taskforce initiatives for both seafaring and shore-based jobs will be one of the major priorities for the new Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) Council, its recently elected President has announced. Addressing a press briefing in Singapore yesterday, Esben Poulsson said the initiative, spearheaded by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)…

Singapore is gearing up to host more than 14,000 participants from over 60 countries, this month, at Sea Asia 2015 — one of the region’s largest maritime conferences and leading forum for analysis and debate on the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. Singapore Maritime Foundation chairman, Michael Chia, said this year’s Sea Asia recognizes Singapore’s position as an international maritime centre and highlight the role the industry has played in the country’s growth. “The maritime industry, which employs some 170,000 people in Singapore and contributes around 7% of Singapore’s GDP, has played a key role in driving Singapore’s development and this trend is set to continue,” he said in a press release.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is supporting local efforts to reduce air pollution in the New York City metropolitan area by providing a total of $1.1 million to help two organizations replace old, dirty diesel engines on boats with less polluting models. The projects will cut emissions of harmful nitrogen oxides and particulate matter among other pollutants. These pollutants are linked to health problems, including asthma, lung and heart disease and premature death. Diesel engines often remain in use a long time. Older diesel engines that predate current and stricter air pollution standards emit large amounts of air pollutants.

As the global economy slowly returned to growth, the Port of Singapore says it maintained its global lead in bunker sales, and achieved good growth in annual vessel arrival tonnage, container and cargo throughput in 2013. Singapore informs it is now home to about 130 shipping groups. The maritime cluster employs more than 170,000 people and contributes some seven per cent to Singapore's Gross Domestic Product, facts that were reflected in the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's advance estimates of port indicators announced by Minister for Transport…

Richard Sadler, CEO of Lloyd’s Register Group Ltd (LR), was honored with the Maritime Fellowship Award at the Maritime Foundation’s Maritime Media Awards. The Maritime Foundation is a charity promoting Britain’s interests across the entire maritime sector. Its purpose is to inform and raise public and parliamentary awareness of the importance of Britain’s maritime industries, commerce and defense through education, training and research, as well as through the Foundation’s annual Maritime Media Awards.

The Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) said it has underlined its commitment to investing in the future of the Singapore and global shipping industry by sponsoring S$50,000 through three scholarships during the 2014/2015 academic year. The scholarships will come under the the MaritimeONE Scholarship Program administered by the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) and will be offered to students attending the Singapore Management University (SMU) and Singapore Maritime Academy at the Singapore Polytechnic. Applications for MaritimeONE scholarships will be from April 1-May 31, 2014.

Maritime industry leaders have called for greater collaboration and consolidation in Asia to tackle challenges such as the rise over capacity, talent shortages and environmental sustainability, which are impacting the potential of the industry. Speaking at an industry insights briefing today ahead of the launch of Sea Asia 2015, the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore Assistant Chief Executive (Development) Tan Beng Tee; PIL Managing Director and Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) Chairman S.S.