A TOTAL of five memoranda of understanding (MOUs) were inked on Friday (Feb 23) by different players of the local maritime industry for the further digitalisation of the sector. 

These agreements were signed at TechWaves, a maritime conference hosted by the Singapore Trade Data Exchange (SGTraDex). 

SGTraDex was established in July 2021 with the goal of digitalising the supply chain ecosystem. 

The first three MOUs are between SGTraDex and the bunker suppliers of Pacific International Lines (PIL) – including TFG Marine, KPI OceanConnect and BP. 

These will help the platform and PIL explore opportunities with each bunker supplier in bunkering supply chain digitalisation. They will also further the adoption of electronic bunker delivery note (eBDN) solutions and enhance the bunkering ecosystem. 

TFG Marine also inked an MOU with shipping lines Golden Ocean and Frontline, committing to advancing adoption of eBDNs and related documents for their bunker deliveries in Singapore, alongside SGTraDex. 

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PSA Marine, Advario, and SGTraDex also announced an agreement to optimise voyage and terminal operations efficiency for liquid bulk vessels in the Port of Singapore. 

The three parties also intend to collaborate on voyage planning and optimisation tool Chrysalis in order to support ecosystem-wide adoption, and enable enhanced connectivity through integration with the SGTraDex platform. 

Tan Chin Hwee, chairman of SGTraDex, said the platform is an “ambitious effort” formed by the public and private sector coming together to tackle the challenge of supply chain digitisation.

“Geopolitical, technological and environmental realities have made this the right time to embrace digitalisation, and we strongly encourage all companies to join us on this journey,” he said. 

Chia Yujin, head of sustainability, decarbonisation and marine fuels at PIL, said SGTraDex can improve the efficiency and reliability of transactions in the marine fuels market.

“Through our efforts and close collaboration with our trusted partners, we now have in place all the digital enablers to adopt SGTraDex as a solution, to simplify transactional processes with our stakeholders in the marine fuel value chain,” he said. 

Delivering his opening address at the conference on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said Singapore has served as a “key node in global supply chains”, and the city-state has leveraged its strategic location to facilitate shipping and the movement of goods between Asia, Europe and the rest of the world.

However, he noted that the trade sector is facing new pressures, including growing protectionist measures in countries as well as the disruption of supply chains during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Shifts in geopolitics and geo-economics – such as war, unrest and extreme climate events – have also exacerbated such pressures, Heng said. For instance, he said the strategic contestation between the US and China has caused trade linkages to be re-examined in some markets. 

“Taken together, there is an urgent need to enhance the resilience of supply chains and trade connectivity that we have grown familiar with over the past three decades,” he said. 

He noted that SGTraDex has booked more than 35 million transactions to date. Last year, the platform generated S$500,000 worth of value for Singapore’s bunkering industry, by facilitating faster payment cycles and enhancing credit availability. 

About 10 per cent of hauliers in Singapore are already on the platform, Heng said, adding that the aim is to capture 50 per cent of hauliers – or about 1,400 trucks – by the end of this year. About 77 per cent of Singapore’s container depots are also integrated with the platform. 

SGTraDex also has partnerships with six major global container shipping lines, which together account for about 35 per cent of global container shipping volumes. 

Heng stressed that strong cross-sector collaboration is one key ingredient for the wide adoption and effectiveness of digital platforms and solutions. 

“Through such collaboration, we can ensure that digital innovations are both conceptually sound, as well as practically and commercially viable,” he said. 

“By working together, regulators, government agencies and end users in the private sector can shape better solutions through an iterative process.”