Singapore Government 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…

Sinopec Fuel Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd aims to raise its monthly bunker sales volumes by more than 50% after it received a license from the Singapore government this month, the company’s general manager said on Monday.Chinese refiners are expanding their foothold in the global marine fuels sector by increasing sales and output of 0.5% low sulphur fuel oil at key ports in Zhoushan, in China, and Singapore in recent years.The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) awarded the bunker license to Sinopec's Singapore fuel oil unit on June 1, the MPA said on its website, allowing the company to

Tru-Marine launches TruCare, designed to transform the technical management of marine turbocharger maintenance and repairs.“TruCare is a disruptive digitization approach in managing asset maintenance onboard vessels in a completely different way," said James Loke, Group Chief Executive Officer, Tru-Marine. "More importantly, it is our response to the urgency of decarbonization imposed by world maritime and the Singapore government’s raised climate ambition to net zero by or around 2050.”Designed for turbochargers onboard all ocean-going vessels…

Singapore-based offshore shipping, shipbuilding, and ship maintenance company Marco Polo Marine has partnered up with green tech ship design company Seatech Solutions International to co-develop two new specialized offshore wind service, operation, and maintenance vessel and the commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV), for the global offshore wind farm market. When completed, these vessels will be the first SOV and CSOV designed in Asia, Marco Polo Marine said. Worth noting…

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has launched at the Kiel shipyard the the largest ever built in Germany submarine. Named Invincible, the submarine will be part of the ongoing submarine program in the Republic of Singapore.Prof. Ivy Ng, wife of Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defense of the Republic of Singapore, named the boat in the presence of high-level representatives from the Singapore government and Navy, as well as high-ranking German officials.In addition to representatives from Thyssenkrupp, there were also representatives from suppliers in attendance for the ceremony. After construction and outfitting is completed, Invincible will undergo intensive testing before being handed over in 2021.Dr.

India's antitrust regulator has ordered a probe into alleged anti-competitive practices by Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk and Dubai's DP World at the terminals they operate at the country's largest container port in Mumbai, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.The decision by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to investigate follows a complaint by Singapore's PSA International Pte Ltd, which alleged that Maersk and DP World created entry barriers to hinder the growth of PSA's terminal by colluding on certain charges they levy at the state-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).Handling 66 million tonnes of cargo in the last fiscal year to March, JNPT is critical to India's international trade.

Wärtsilä is partnering with the cyber security company Templar Executives to establish a cyber academy in Singapore. The academy will offer courses designed to support and enhance the collective cyber maturity of the wider shipping community, notably operators and owners.“We believe this is a first for the maritime industry; a center of excellence including a cyber academy, combining threat intelligence and cyber education designed to support collaboration for our customers and the wider maritime community…

A U.S. guided missile destroyer's deadly collision with an oil tanker near Singapore in 2017 was caused by "a sudden turn" made by the warship that put it in the path of the commercial vessel, said a report by the Singapore government on Thursday. The collision on Aug. 21, which killed 10 sailors and was one of a handful of incidents in the Asia Pacific region involving U.S. Navy warships, raised questions about Navy training and led to the removal of a number of officers. "The…

The International Maritime Centre (IMC) 2030 Advisory Committee, established by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in August 2016, has submitted the IMC 2030 Strategic Review report to the Singapore Government. The Committee’s vision is for Maritime Singapore to be the Global Maritime Hub for Connectivity, Innovation and Talent. The Committee, chaired by Mr Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Chairman of BW Group, comprises 21 other global business leaders and experts from diverse sectors such as maritime, finance, commodities trading, logistics, finance and technology. The Committee reaffirmed that Singapore’s global hub port and IMC remain complementing twin engines of growth for Maritime Singapore.

As oil continues to sell below $50 per barrel, 2017 could be one of the toughest years in decades for Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV) companies, according to a study of 44 companies in the industry by AlixPartners. The firm’s analysis highlights these companies’ rising debt burdens, making it increasingly unlikely that most of them can maintain solvency. The industry faces grave financial pressure, which is clear from recent bankruptcy filings and distressed mergers. Exploration and production (E&P) companies have drastically reduced their rig counts, causing demand for OSV services to plunge.

Singapore's Offshore support vessel (OSV)-focused Pacific Radiance said that it has won US$45.3 million of new contracts including options, which will add to its operating cash flow. Under these contracts, ten of the Group’s offshore support vessels, including a diving support vessel, are being deployed to support projects in Asia and the Middle East. They are chartered to new and existing clients to provide services which include towing, repair and maintenance, transportation and platform support. Pang Yoke Min, the Executive Chairman of Pacific Radiance, said: “These latest contract wins will improve the Group’s vessel utilisation and underscore our efforts to build a sustainable long term business.

The first Singapore Technical Reference (TR) 56 for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Bunkering was launched by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), SPRING Singapore and the Standards Development Organisation @ Singapore Chemical Industry Council (SDO@SCIC). This standard has been developed to provide a safe, efficient, sustainable and transparent technical framework for conducting LNG bunkering operations in Singapore, thereby offering greater assurance to local and international LNG bunker buyers and suppliers. Over the past three decades, Singapore has established itself as the world’s top bunkering port. This has been supported…

The market for LNG in Singapore is projected to grow at a CAGR 10.39% during 2016-2025, due to the push from Singapore government towards adoption of cleaner energy sources, capacity addition of natural gas / LNG based power plants and emergence of Singapore as a regional trading hub for LNG in Asia-Pacific. "Growing demand from power generation sector, favorable LNG prices and government initiatives to setup Singapore as LNG hub is expected to drive Singapore LNG market," says the report by TechSci Research. Pavilion Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pavilion Gas Pte Ltd. inked an agreement with BP in 2016, under which the British company would supply around 0.4 million tonnes per year of LNG for 20 years from 2019, thereby increasing the supply of LNG in the country.

Hong Kong is to release armoured vehicles belonging to Singapore impounded in the Chinese-ruled city on their way home from military exercises in Taiwan, Singapore said on Tuesday. Hong Kong customs seized the troop carriers in November. Beijing, which regained sovereignty over the former British colony of Hong Kong in 1997, then warned countries against maintaining military ties with Taiwan. Singapore's foreign affairs ministry said Hong Kong authorities would release the Singapore Armed Forces' troop carriers and other equipment to the Singapore government but the ministry did not give details. Hong Kong's commissioner of Customs and Excise, Roy Tang, said in a statement the vehicles were seized because of "a suspected breach of the Hong Kong law".

BigOceanData and Alltek Technology Singapore have won a competitive open tender to supply AIS vessel monitoring services to a Singapore government organization. BigOceanData’s modern, web-based AIS vessel monitoring system and fleet management tools are now helping to track and report on up to 50 material container vessels at any one time that are inward bound to Singapore. The tender selection process was tough with the client demanding a very high standard to meet their need for a modern, high-intensity ocean vessel monitoring operation with integrated mapping and charting information. “The contract was finally won not only by meeting all the contractual and pricing requirements…

An increasing number of ships and vessels are using liquefied natural gas or LNG as a clean fuel to comply with the regulations laid by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) across emission control areas. LNG as a ship fuel reduces the emission of sulphur dioxide by 90-95% compared to the conventional petroleum fuels. This factor has propelled the growth of the global LNG bunkering market, says Transparency Market Research (TMR). The market stood at 70 kilo tons in 2013 and is anticipated to expand phenomenally at a CAGR of 63.6% during the period between 2014 and 2025. The overall market is projected to reach 22,540 kilo tons by 2025.

The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singaporehas announced an additional 10 per cent concession on port dues for container vessels calling in Singapore, with port stays of up to five days, to help the shipping industry tide over the current economic downturn. MPA said that the additional concession will be in place for one year, and will be granted on top of existing port dues concessions such as the Green Port Programme incentives and the 20 per cent concession first introduced in 1996. The additional concession will be effective on Friday. In all, these concessions are expected to amount to more than S$17 million in annual savings for container lines, the MPA said in a media release.

A flotation of a minority stake could value the world's fourth-largest shipping group German-Chilean Hapag-Lloyd AG at more than 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) and could take place as early as autumn. Hapag-Lloyd AG has already mandated investment banks Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Inc. and Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. to advise on the initial public offering (IPO), as per various media reports. The reports indicate Hapag-Lloyd expediting efforts to float a minority stake on the Frankfurt stock exchange as early as this fall. The net proceeds from the IPO could be used to cover the company’s pretty extensive debt of USD 3.65 billion. However, the plans are yet to be confirmed by Hapag-Lloyd.

Thousands of Vietnamese set fire to factories and rampaged in industrial zones in the south of the country after protests against Chinese oil drilling in a part of the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam, officials said on Wednesday. The brunt appears to have been borne by Taiwanese companies in the zones in Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces as rioters mistook the firms to be Chinese-owned. Vietnamese officials gave few details, but said gates to factories were smashed and windows were broken. Police said they were investigating. A Singapore foreign ministry spokesman said the premises of a number of foreign companies were broken into and set on fire in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) I and II in Binh Duong.

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.

Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund Temasek Holdings has put Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) up for sale, says a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report. The WSJ reported that Temasek was in talks with one buyer in recent months but the two sides could not agree on a price for the loss-making company. The WSJ put NOL's market capitalization at 2.3 billion Singapore dollars ($1.7 billion). The report, citing unnamed sources, said the liner company has been "shopped to prospective buyers" in recent months. NOL is about 67 per cent owned by Temasek, going by Bloomberg data. The company had been in talks with a prospective buyer, but "the two sides couldn't agree on price", added the report.

Attended by Some 350 Guests, Announces Commitment to Further Business Expansion. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Koichi Muto) hosted a party in Singapore on November 7 for customers, business partners, government officials and others. MOL emphasized the strategic importance of Singapore, and introduced group companies that operate businesses in the island nation. The event, held at the Intercontinental Hotel Singapore, was attended by more than 350 guests including Singapore Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew and Japanese Ambassador to Singapore Haruhisa Takeuchi…

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.