Singapore port container throughput hits record high in 2019: MPA

CONTAINER throughput at the Port of Singapore hit an all-time high of 37.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2019, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) announced in a press release on Monday. 

The 2019 container throughput is 1.6 per cent higher than the 36.6 million TEUs registered in 2018, and 31 per cent higher than the 28.4 million TEUs in 2010. This marks "strong growth in the past decade" amid challenging economic conditions, MPA noted. 

The Port of Singapore handled a total of 626.2 million tonnes of cargo in 2019, down 0.6 per cent from 2018. Meanwhile, vessel arrival tonnage hit 2.85 billion Gross Tonnage (GT) in 2019, up 2.2 per cent from the previous year.

Singapore registered a bunker sale volume of 47.5 million tonnes in 2019, down 4.6 per cent. Nevertheless, MPA said the Republic remains a key bunkering port. 

Meanwhile, the total tonnage of ships under the Singapore flag reached 97.3 million GT in 2019. "The Singapore Registry of Ships continues to rank amongst the top ship registries in the world, reflecting Singapore's reputation as a quality flag of choice for international ship owners," MPA added. 

Separately, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min announced that Andreas Sohmen-Pao, chairman of BW Group, has been reappointed as chairman of the Singapore Maritime Foundation for another two years, from Jan 1, 2020 to Dec 31, 2021.

For his contributions to maritime Singapore, Mr Sohmen-Pao was awarded the Public Service Transformation Star Partner Award in 2019.