23 October 2013

Capt Charles Piersall, Chairman ISO/C8,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to join you here today for the opening of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Singapore Seminar.

First, let me extend a very warm welcome to all of you, especially our guests who have travelled from near and far to be with us today. With such a congregation of ISO members, international and local industry partners as well as other key stakeholders, I am optimistic that this seminar will be an excellent occasion for participants to interact and exchange ideas, renew acquaintances and make new friends in the industry.

Both the ISO and the International Maritime Organization, or IMO, play essential and critical roles in the development of international standards and regulations to ensure quality and safety benchmarks for international shipping. As the international regulatory body for maritime matters, the IMO continuously reviews existing regulatory regimes to ensure that global shipping activities are conducted in a safe, secure and efficient manner underpinned by quality and sustainable policies. The ISO plays a crucial role in facilitating the development of universally accepted industry standards for various marine products, systems and services, linking the shipping industry under the IMO's regime.

I am told that the ISO currently has members from some 160 countries and 3,400 technical bodies to take care of standard development. For Singapore, SPRING Singapore is a member body of ISO and coordinates Singapore's overall efforts towards the works of ISO. The Technical Committee 8 or TC8 is responsible for the standardisation of design, construction, equipment, technology, and marine environmental matters, used in shipbuilding and the operation of sea-going ships, ship-to-shore interface and all offshore marine structures subject to IMO requirements.

TC8 has made many invaluable contributions to IMO, having developed industry standards for areas such as management systems for supply chain security, systems and processes for lifesaving, fire protection and prevention, and other ship safety and marine environment protection processes and systems. TC8 is under the able leadership of its chairman, Capt Charles Piersall. It is eminently appropriate that Capt Charles Piersall is the ISO representative to IMO, thus ensuring that the IMO and the ISO are coordinated and coherent on international standards and regulations for the shipping industry. Singapore participates actively in the various technical committees at the IMO as we are a major hub port and have a large ship registry. We thus have a keen interest to contribute to the development of robust international regulations on safety, security and environment protection. At the ISO, at TC8, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (or MPA), works with SPRING Singapore, and industry partners, to participate in the work of TC8.Singapore's participation in both the ISO and the IMO underscores the importance and meaningful contributions that both the institutions had made and will continue to make to shipping.

Ladies and gentlemen, today's seminar takes place in the midst of exciting times as the global maritime industryfaces many challenges even as it pulls out of the global economic downturn. The issues that face the shipping community these days are more complex-ship safety, supply chain security, climate change are but a few of the many challenges. The theme of today's seminar is thus aptly named, "Safety, Security and Environment", and we have an impressive list of speakers which I am sure will generate much thought and discussions on addressing these complex challenges. I will give a few examples where the ISO and the IMO could play complementary roles to address some of these challenges and enhance shipping standards.

Sometimes, it takes an unfortunate incident to give us that wake up call. The COSTA CONCORDIA incident which resulted in 32 deaths has triggered a priority work item for at the IMO's the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC). I am confident that we will learn from the findings of this mishap, and put in place measures, such as new industry standards, to prevent a recurrence. So in the area of safety, the IMO and ISO will always remain alert and responsive to safety requirements.

Another area of challenge is that of dealing with sustainable shipping. At the IMO, member countries are negotiating measures for clean and green shipping. The IMO's Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) was implemented earlier this year to encourage the use of more energy-efficient ship designs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping activities. There is also a gradual adoption of abatement technology onboard ships to reduce SOX and NOX emissions. I believe that there are many possible areas of collaboration between IMO and ISO to develop industry standards to promote clean and green shipping.

Turning to the area of "security", I am happy to state that it has been widely reported that the number of piracy incidents has dropped significantly in the Gulf of Aden.However, the threat of piracy persists and still presents an added cost to the industry and a risk to the safety and lives of our seafarers. The ISO and the IMO have been working closely with the shipowners to come up with practical and effective solutions to alleviate the piracy situation while still promoting long term industry growth. It was with these objectives in mind that the publicly available specification (PAS) 28007 on the Guidelines for Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs) providing Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel (PCASPs) onboard ships was developed. This set of guidelines is expected to help ensure the reliability of the services provided by the armed personnel for ships transiting through the high risk piracy areas.

Singapore is a strong supporter of the international standards developed by ISO.A wide range of ISO standards has been adopted by the business community in Singapore to better manage and improve work processes and systems, including those in the local maritime industry. The public sector also embraces ISO standards. In July 2012, MPA adopted the application of the 4th edition ISO 8217 which specifies the standards and requirements for marine fuels supplied to ships within the Port of Singapore.

To cater to a growing fleet of ships that would be fuelled by LNG in future, MPA is currently studying the longer term development plans for this sector, including the formulation of LNG bunkering procedures. We would be happy to work with ISO and other like-minded parties to develop industry standards for this sector.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me reiterate the important work of the ISO in the development of international standards which ensure that products and services are safe and reliable. Together with the IMO, shipping will gain much from the ISO to improve the marine environment,and the safety and security of ships. On this note, it is my pleasure to declare this seminar open and I wish you all, meaningful and fruitful discussions over the course of the seminar. Thank you.