Your Excellency, Mr Tormod Cappelen Endresen, Norwegian Ambassador to Singapore,

Distinguished guests and speakers,

Ladies and gentlemen

2     It is my pleasure to join you today. The Maritime Sustainability Forum has provided a platform to profile and share the latest smart technology solutions and is an excellent opportunity for networking participants to explore joint research and test-bedding collaborations, as well as to exchange ideas. I am pleased to see that our speakers today are from different sectors of the industry. I am particularly pleased to see an encouraging turnout from the research institutions, classification societies and technology providers. I am also sure that the speakers and experts we have invited today will provide you with different perspectives and useful insights on new technological advancements and their potential to drive sustainable shipping and other maritime activities.

3     Allow me to share with you MPA’s Sustainability Journey, which I hope you will find useful and be able to draw some lessons for your next R&D and test-bedding projects. 

 

4     Since MPA’s formation in 1996, our sustainability goals have been to foster a safe and green marine environment, ensure a vibrant Maritime Singapore and maintain a quality flag registry as part of our mission to develop and promote Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre as well as to advance and safeguard Singapore's strategic maritime interests. 

 

5     Though the various programmes and initiatives have promoted our sustainability efforts, amongst other objectives, these are only parts of our sustainability journey. To drive a broader, more integrated sustainability effort, MPA had in 2010 formalised a Corporate Social Responsibility framework to crystallise the sustainability principles into the three key areas of Promoting Responsible Environmental Practices, Encouraging Community Involvement and Caring for Employees.  

 

6      I will first touch on the environmental aspect.

7      As a port authority and one of the busiest ports in the world, MPA promotes and ensures environmentally-friendly shipping and port activities in the Port of Singapore. To accomplish this, Singapore is party to the major International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions on ship safety and marine pollution prevention. Besides the regulatory and enforcement efforts, MPA has invested in green initiatives and technology and supported the maritime community to adopt green technology.

8      One of the key R&D areas that we have emphasised is the Marine Environment. Through the Maritime Innovation and Technology Fund or MINT Fund, MPA is working with partners in the industry and the research institutes to develop capabilities in technologies related to maritime environment and energy. Since the setting up of MINT Fund in 2003, MPA has collaborated with partners on research that contributes to greener shipping and port management.  One of these is the $15M Maritime Clean Energy Research Programme in the Nanyang Technological University. The success of this programme culminated in the  setting up of the $8M Maritime Energy Test Bed in 2015, which is Southeast Asia’s first such facility and serves as a platform for the development of innovative solutions for air emission control and energy efficiency management and for research and development into alternative marine fuels. 

9       In addition to these efforts, MPA has also supported the research community through the Singapore Maritime Institute by setting aside $4M for the Maritime Sustainability R&D programme launched last year and $3M for a joint Norway-Singapore International Call for Research Proposals called in 2015 in which three joint research projects relating to maritime energy have been approved. 

10     For the industry, MPA has established incentive schemes for maritime companies to anchor R&D centres in Singapore to undertake research and innovation projects. In 2013, DNV GL’s ECO-Research Centre was the first to benefit from the Maritime Cluster Fund’s Business Development Scheme. In 2015, MPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ClassNK to formalise ClassNK’s R&D activities in Singapore and to mark the opening of ClassNK’s ClassNK Global Research and Innovation Centre in Singapore. 

11     MPA also organizes the biennial Singapore Maritime Technology Conference to profile the latest developments in maritime and port technology and R&D; and to create partnerships and collaborations amongst researchers, academics, engineers and professionals in the maritime and port industries. The upcoming SMTC will take place in Apr 2017 in conjunction with the Singapore Maritime Week 2017 where one of the likely themes is Green Ports and Shipping. The conference organisers will be launching a Call for Abstracts in the coming months and I would like encourage all stakeholders to participate in this highly anticipated event.

12     To encourage more quality innovations in the maritime sector, MPA will be inviting the industry to submit research project proposals under its MINT Fund Call for Proposals. Among other themes, the CFP will have a focus on R&D in Maritime Environment in areas such as the use of drone technology for oil spill response, and technologies to support the industry in ballast water management efforts. The call will open in May and close in August. And on this note, you would have read from media reports that last week, MPA announced that we will commit a further S$50 million to the MINT Fund and extend its term to 2021. With the top-up, the total amount allocated to the fund will stand at S$200 million.

13     As the MINT Fund focuses on research and innovation development, a broader initiative, the Maritime Singapore Green Initiative or MSGI was launched in 2011 to broaden the outreach to the industry in promoting the adoption of clean and green practices across the whole maritime industry, from shipping companies, terminal operators to maritime companies with interest in protecting the environment.  

14     The MSGI has 3 programmes, which are “Green Ship Programme”, “Green Port Programme” and “Green Technology Programme”. The Green Ship Programme is to encourage the reduction of emissions for Singapore flagged ships while the Green Port Programme is to encourage the reduction of emissions for ocean-going vessels calling at the Port of Singapore. The Green Technology Programmes is to promote the adoption and development of green technologies by local maritime companies. 

15     To date, more than 275 ships had qualified under the Green Ship Programme and more than 3,800 vessel calls had enjoyed concessions on port dues under the Green Port Programme. As for the Green Technology Programme, more than 20 projects were supported.  

16     Beyond the MSGI, the MPA has also launched a Pilot Programme on LNG Bunkering to support the building of up to six LNG-fuelled vessels in Sep 2015 and awarded the first LNG bunkering licences in Jan 2016.  As part of these LNG efforts, the effectiveness of established modes of LNG delivery and evaluation of the operational standards and procedures of the most cost-effective mode of LNG delivery will be established to ensure Singapore’s readiness in LNG bunkering.

17     To elevate commitment to Environmental and Social issues, the MPA Sustainability Office was formed in 2014 to drive both internal and external sustainability efforts. Its key objective is to foster a culture of good governance, prudent resource management and conscientious environmental and social practices. The Sustainability Office promotes the Maritime Singapore Green Initiative and engages with industry partners and agencies to encourage and implement environmentally-friendly shipping and port activities, as well as R&D.

18     The second key area of MPA’s Corporate Social Responsibility framework is encouraging community involvement. As part of the MSGI, the Green Pledge was initiated to involve the active participation of the maritime community towards promoting clean and green shipping in Singapore. So far, about 100 organisations including shipping lines, salvage companies and offshore service providers have signed the Green Pledge.

 

19     In the planning of our future terminals, MPA is working with various governmental and non-governmental agencies as part of our commitment to develop our future port at Tuas into a community-oriented port that would include maritime gallery and visitor centre, amenities and activities to bring the community closer to the port.  One of these activities during the development of the Tuas port involving the community is a volunteer coral relocation and monitoring programme where volunteers from the NGO and the public participated in relocating corals from Sultan Shoal to St. John’s Island and Sisters’ Islands and monitoring of the relocated corals since end 2013.

20     An initiative involving the maritime community is the test-bedding of Mass Flow Metering for marine fuel oil deliveries in Singapore where the industry and agencies worked together. This included the development of a Technical Reference for Bunker Mass Flow Metering, also known as TR48, by the Technical Committee for Bunkering comprising Spring Singapore, MPA, A*STAR and stakeholders from the marine, shipping and oil and gas industry. The Technical Reference will support the use of the mass flow metering system for marine fuel oil deliveries in Singapore from 1 January 2017. 

21     In conclusion, I hope you found MPA’s on-going Sustainability Journey useful as you chart yours. Your participation and partnerships are important to contributing to a sustainable Maritime Singapore and a clean and green environment. 

 

22     Ladies and gentlemen, MPA is committed to, and will continue to work together with our partners to develop a sustainable Maritime Singapore. 

23     Thank you very much for your attention, and I wish you an enjoyable and fruitful afternoon.