Prime Minister Office News

Lebanon's authorities signed a contract this month with a German company to clear dangerous material stored for more than a decade at Beirut port, the site of a seismic blast in August that killed about 200 people and wrecked swathes of the capital.Combi Lift, which signed the contract three months after a huge quantity of poorly stored chemicals erupted in a mushroom cloud, will remove "flammable and highly reactive" chemicals from 49 containers at the port, the caretaker prime…

Lebanon and Israel, formally still at war after decades of conflict, launch talks on Wednesday to address a long-running dispute over their maritime border running through potentially gas-rich Mediterranean waters.The U.S.-mediated talks follow three years of intense diplomacy by Washington and were announced less than a month after the United States stepped up pressure on political allies of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.They also come after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to establish full relations with Israel…

A Chinese government survey ship is tagging an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia's state oil company Petronas in disputed waters in the South China Sea, three regional security sources said on Friday.China's Haiyang Dizhi 8 entered waters near Malaysia on Thursday, according to ship tracking website Marine Traffic.On Friday, it was close to the Petronas-operated West Capella, according to the security sources, who did not want to be identified because they were not authorised to talk to the media. One of the sources said a Vietnamese vessel was also tagging the West Capella.The area is close to waters claimed by both Vietnam and Malaysia as well by China…

The National University of Singapore's Faculty of Engineering (NUS), Singapore LNG Corporation (SLNG) and Keppel Data Centers Holdings join forces to develop new energy-efficient cooling technology for data centers.This innovation could further pave the way for more sustainable and compact data centers, said Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corporation.With the rapid expansion of cloud-based services, AI, the Internet of Things and big data analytics, there has been an exponential demand across the globe for data centers in recent years. As the leading data center hub of Southeast Asia, Singapore accounted for around 50 per cent of the region's data center capacity in 2015.Due to the high internal load and the need for consistent cooling and operation in a tightly-controlled environment…

British-American cruise operator Carnival Corporation and two of its cruise line brands have signed an agreement with the government of The Bahamas to build two major port developments.The world's largest travel leisure company, with a combined fleet of over 100 vessels across 10 cruise line brands, said that it will develop a new cruise port destination primarily for Carnival Cruise Line on Grand Bahama, and construction of a new addition, including a pier, on the Bahamian island of Little San Salvador, home to Holland America Line's Half Moon Cay port.The Grand Bahama project will represent an investment of over $100 million, and the development on Little San Salvador will be an estimated $80 million investment over time…

Canada will act to prevent the smuggling of cheap steel and aluminum into the North American market to avoid new U.S. tariffs on the metals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. Trudeau said earlier this month he was aware of concerns that countries facing the tariffs could try to ship supplies through Canada and pretend the metals had been produced in Canadian facilities. Under new measures unveiled by Trudeau's office on Tuesday, the Canada Border Services Agency will gain new powers to stop companies that try to dodge duties.

Paris and Rome should be able to resolve their differences over the sale of a disputed shipyard, Italy's industry minister said on Wednesday, but he hinted that French investors might yet be hurt because of the row. The comments from Industry Minister Carlo Calenda could spell trouble in particular for French media group Vivendi , which has taken control of Italy's main telecom provider Telecom Italia (TIM). France angered Rome last month by ordering the "temporary" nationalisation of STX France shipyards…

The Singapore Maritime Gallery (SMG) which underwent a refresh, was officially opened today by Senior Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Ministry of Transport, Mrs Josephine Teo. Visitors can now look forward to more interactive and experiential learning in a vibrant maritime setting. From a ship simulator to “Ship Spotting”, visitors can immerse themselves in virtual reality as they experience a 360 degrees view of the various ship models and their components. Among the new features of the Gallery are two new sections called the “Changing Gallery” and the “Epilogue”. The “Changing Gallery” is a versatile space that can host exhibitions, workshops and other maritime-related activities.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s whole of government approach to maritime security, as an enabler for sustainable development of the blue economy, is being played out in the latest maritime security table-top exercise. The exercise in Tanga, United Republic of Tanzania (9-10 November) is highlighting the need for a unified approach to implementation of maritime security measures, with particular reference to IMO’s SOLAS chapter XI-2 and ISPS Code. During the exercise, participants from a range of Government agencies, including the port sector, are confronted with various threats and challenges to maritime security, involving policy decisions, crisis/emergency management and response.

Hurricane Matthew weakened slightly on Saturday as it moved towards Jamaica and Cuba, although with winds of up to 155 miles per hour (250 kph) it is powerful enough to wreck houses, forecasters said. The strongest hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean since Felix in 2007 was forecast to make landfall as a major storm on Monday on Jamaica's southern coast, home to the capital and Jamaica's only oil refinery. It could affect the island's main tourist areas such as Montego Bay in the north. With Matthew about 420 miles (675 km) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, the U.S. National Hurricane Center downgraded its designation to a Category 4, from the top Category 5, on the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, but Jamaican authorities said they were taking all possible precautions.

Senior Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Ministry of Transport, Mrs Josephine Teo officially opened the inaugural Maritime Youth Festival (MYF). Organised by Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), MYF is a biennial two-day festival that aims to raise awareness of Maritime Singapore through a weekend of fun-filled activities. Positioned as an event that is run for youth by youth, participants will be introduced to different aspects of maritime industry in a light-hearted manner through booth games and activities. Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of MPA said, “We are excited about this new initiative. The MYF reflects a fresh approach towards engaging young Singaporeans on the many exciting opportunities offered by the maritime sector.

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.

Following on a March 2015 agreement and a memorandum of agreement last December, Fincantieri, a leader in cruise ship design and construction, and Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise company, have finalized contracts for the construction of five next-generation passenger ships. The contracts finalized today envisage one further unit compared to the memorandum of agreement of December and mark the most important goal reached by the two groups in the last years, having a total value which exceeds 3 billion euros. Crucial, once more, for the finalization of the agreement, the supporting of the export credit system lead by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Cdp).

Newly-elected President John Magufuli has sacked the head of Tanzania's ports authority and the top official in the transport ministry, part of a campaign to root out corruption and inefficiency in the East African nation. Magufuli fired the director general of the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), Awadhi Massawe, and the permanent secretary in the transport ministry, Shaaban Mwinjaka, following the disappearance of over 2,700 shipping containers at the port. Massawe, who was acting director of the port since February before being formally confirmed to the position in October by Magufuli's predecessor, President Jakaya Kikwete, becomes the third port chief to be sacked in as many years.

Finland-based Cinia Group began laying the new submarine Sea Lion data cable in Helsinki, Finland. The new fibre optic sea cable will provide a direct, low latency and cyber secure internet backbone connection between Finland and Germany. Linking Cinia's existing countrywide data network in Finland with network nodes in Central Europe, the new sea cable is expected to increase interest of data center operators and data intensive organizations to set up operations in Finland. "The sea cable initiative builds the future of Finland based on our existing strengths," said Eero Heliövaara, Director General at the Prime Minister's Office. "A direct data connection between Finland and Central Europe is an important enabler of both domestic economic growth and international investments.

Cameroon has awarded a contract for its Kribi port to a consortium led by French logistics group Necotrans, the two parties said. The deepwater port will allow for the import and export of raw materials such as timber and cotton as well as vehicles and service equipment for Cameroon's oil and gas sector. A contract for the Kribi container port was awarded to a Bollore-led consortium last week. The government is rushing to get Kribi operational to ease congestion on the port of Douala, 150 kilometres to the north. "As the only deepwater port in Central Africa, Kribi will be the economic lifeblood for Cameroon and the region, notably Chad and the Central African Republic," Necotrans President Gregory Querel said in a statement.

Democratic Republic of Congo's oil ministry has called for bids to exploit reserves of methane gas at the bottom of Lake Kivu on its eastern border with Rwanda, the prime minister's office said on Friday. The office announced the tender on its twitter account but did not give details. An oil ministry official said the tender process had not yet begun but added that Congo needed the gas to help meet its energy deficit. "It is very important that we exploit this gas, because otherwise it has the potential to explode and cause significant damage to the population," said the ministry official, who requested anonymity. Methane and carbon dioxide collect at the bottom of the lake's icy waters.

Keppel FELS Limited , a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), is on track to deliver three KFELS B Class jackup rigs to Mexican company, Grupo R, safely, on time and on budget. A world's first triple rig naming ceremony was held today at Keppel FELS' yard with Mr Chan Chun Sing, Singapore's Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress as the Guest of Honour. Built to Keppel's proprietary KFELS B Class design, the three identical rigs were named CANTARELL I, CANTARELL II and CANTARELL III, after the Cantarell oil field in offshore Mexico. They are the first three of five rigs that Keppel FELS is building for Grupo R.

Ocean Mineral Singapore Pte Ltd (OMS) has entered into a 15-year exploration contract for polymetallic nodules at a site within the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone of the Pacific Ocean with the International Seabed Authority (ISA). Sponsored by the Singapore Government, OMS is the first Singaporean company to be awarded an exploration contract for polymetallic nodules. The contract signing ceremony took place between Mr Nii Allotey Odunton, Secretary-General of the ISA and Mr Ong Ye Kung, Director of OMS, and was witnessed by Guest-of-Honour, Mr Masagos Zulkifli Bin Masagos Mohamad, Minister, Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs, as well as Ambassador Tommy Koh, Singapore's Ambassador-at-Large, and Mr Loh Chin Hua, CEO of Keppel Corporation.

Japan will send a high-level delegation to Adelaide for talks on building Australia's next-generation fleet of submarines. A former commander of the Japanese navy will head a 40-strong delegation to Australia next month to negotiate roles for local industry in building submarines, should Japan win the contract to provide them. Admiral Takashi Saito is a veteran submariner who has played a key role in military diplomacy with Japan’s allies in the region and with China. Australia’s “competitive evaluation process” is pitting Japanese, German, and French submarine builders against each other in a bid to secure a A$50 billion ($38.84 billion) contract to build six to 12 submarines for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

Keppel Corporation (Keppel) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) announced the founding of the Keppel-NUS Corporate Laboratory, in collaboration with the National Research Foundation (NRF), Prime Minister's Office, Singapore. The laboratory, which will be based at the NUS Faculty of Engineering, will be established with an investment amount of S$75 million. The launch of the Keppel-NUS Corporate Laboratory was graced by Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Teo Chee Hean, who is also Chairman of NRF. The Keppel-NUS Corporate Laboratory is the second laboratory to be established under the NRF's Corp Lab at University scheme, which is established to support Singapore's autonomous universities in their conduct of industry-relevant research with companies as partners.

The submerged reef would be easy to miss, under turquoise seas about 80 km (50 miles) off Malaysia's Borneo island state of Sarawak. But two Chinese naval exercises in less than a year around the James Shoal have shocked Malaysia and led to a significant shift in its approach to China's claims to the disputed South China Sea, senior diplomats told Reuters. The reef lies outside Malaysia's territorial waters but inside its 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone. The latest incident in January, in particular, prompted Malaysia to quietly step up cooperation with the Philippines and Vietnam, the two Southeast Asian nations most outspoken over China's moves in the region, in trying to tie Beijing to binding rules of conduct in the South China Sea, the diplomats said.

The keel laying ceremony for first of the series of Two Water Jet Fast Attack Crafts (WJFAC) being built by GSL for Mauritius Police Force was held at GSL on December 18, 2014. Capt. Anish Nair, Warship Production Superintendent (WPS), Goa did the honors in the presence of Rear Adm. Shekhar Mital, NM, IN (Retd) Chairman and Managing Director, GSL. Senior Officials of GSL were also present on the occasion. The contract for the export order was signed on May 7, 2014 in Port Louis, Mauritius by Mrs. K. O. Fong Weng-Poorun, Senior Chief Executive of the Prime Minister’s Office and Rear Adm.