Singapore to steer maritime's green push beyond global standards

Singapore

A GREEN initiative to manage ships' sulphur emissions will be enhanced to focus on decarbonisation for the next five years. This was just one among a slew of measures announced by Singapore's shipping authority to ready ship owners and operators for the future.

The Maritime Singapore Green Initiative, due to expire end-2019, will also be extended by five years to end-2024, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) chief executive Quah Ley Hoon said on Friday. The initiative, launched by MPA in 2011, gives companies incentives for adopting clean and green shipping practices over and above the minimum required by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

As part of the enhancement, there will be new incentives to encourage the adoption of engines using low-carbon fuels like liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as the use of LNG bunker during port stay, as the authorities make a greater push for the use of LNG.

"Beyond meeting the 2020 sulphur fuel (limit), we now aim to embrace sustainability and prepare ourselves for a lower-carbon future," Ms Quah said, referring to the IMO's 0.5 per cent global sulphur cap for marine fuels which will kick in from January 2020.

"Our future state must be one that is powered by greener fuels, new shipping capabilities, new maritime talent, interoperable digital platforms and players beyond the traditional realm of maritime," she said.

Ms Quah outlined shipping trends and the MPA's plans, which include going green and going digital, in a speech at the Singapore Registry of Ships Forum 2019 held at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.

She noted that the MPA has been enhancing digital connectivity with customers by progressively digitalising many of the services offered by its One Stop Document Centre (OSDC) and the Singapore Registry of Ships through enhancements on the Marinet platform.

By the start of 2020, all services provided by the OSDC will be fully digital and available on Marinet, as the physical counter gets phased out gradually from Dec 1. The counter will be open for half a day before it is fully closed from Jan 1, 2020.

In addition, digitalPORT@SG, a digital platform announced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat last week, will be linked to all Marinet e-services starting December. Marinet users will be progressively migrated over to the platform, which allows seamless data exchange between public and private sectors on the global maritime transport chain.

Amid the disruption in the sector, Ms Quah said Singapore's maritime workforce must remain relevant and take on new skills.

To that end, the Tripartite Maritime Scholarship will be enhanced with the introduction of a new mid-term scholarship for Certificate of Competency 3/5 holders. They will get a S$30,000 sign-on bonus and allowances to cover related course expenses.

MPA, SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore have also jointly developed the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) for Sea Transport Professionals to help mid-career local professionals, managers, engineers and technicians to take up new maritime jobs.

Companies on board the PCP would receive co-funding support to re-skill participants through a mixture of classroom learning and structured on-the-job training.

Ms Quah also said the Singapore Registry of Ships crossed the 95 million gross tonnage milestone in 2019, maintaining the Republic's position among the top five in the world.