Your Excellencies, 

 

Mr Andreas Nordseth, Director General, Danish Maritime Authority,

 

Distinguished guests, 

 

1.      Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me to Nordic Maritime 2022. It is exciting to see so many friends and partners! For my speech, I would like to touch on two areas. First, on macro trends – we heard many trends described in this morning’s sessions, I would like to just touch on them briefly. I want to then touch on some of the collaborations that we’ve been working on together in Singapore, with Nordic companies and countries, which could be a springboard for more action moving forward. 

 

 

2.      Global supply chains have not returned to normal. They were disrupted over the last two years, and we are unlikely to see a reprieve anytime soon. 

 

3.     The war in Ukraine has disrupted energy, grain and fertiliser supply chains. It has added pressure to container shipping as well, because goods previously transported between Asia and Europe via railways are now re-routed via sea. We also count 15% of global seafarers who are from Ukraine and Russia. 

 

4.      Congestions and vessel delays at major ports remain a concern. Shortage of port workers and truck drivers have reduced inland transport capacity and port productivity. 

 

As the world’s busiest container transhipment port, Singapore has been trying to support global supply chains to the fullest extent possible. The Port of Singapore has remained open 24/7, and our marine services – crew change, bunkering, ship supplies, ship repairs, etc. – continue to operate. PSA has also helped to play the role of catch-up port, taking in more than 30 unscheduled vessel calls on average per month over the past year. 

 

 

5.      In the longer horizon, geopolitical shifts, technology and digitalisation would impact maritime significantly. But one disruption stands out as particularly existential – sustainability. That is why MPA published the Maritime Singapore Decarbonisation Blueprint 2050. It lays out our decarbonisation strategies and priorities, and MPA will commit additional funds of at least $300 million in support of these efforts. 

 

6.      Thus far, my conversations for the past few days have focused on decarbonisation. Singapore seeks to play the role of a facilitator, building partnerships for an inclusive transition to cleaner fuels. Allow me to highlight three priorities in accelerating decarbonisation: (1) supporting technology development, (2) shaping bunkering standards, and (3) advancing international collaborations. 

 

Supporting Technology Development 

 

7.      First, on technology development. According to an UMAS study, to meet IMO’s 2050 targets, the deployment of energy efficiency solutions, engines, and infrastructure for low carbon fuels, are expected to cost US$1.2 trillion. We are keen to work with companies and research institutes around the world, to develop complementary capabilities, test-bed proposals, and pilot solutions. We need to look at what more we can do together to move solutions forward. 

 

8.      Innovation plays a very important role. The annual MPA Maritime Innovation Challenge is one way for us to work together. Companies can surface challenge statements for global solver communities – comprising students, start-ups, researchers, MarineTech firms, or even firms from other sectors. For example, at the 2021 Maritime Singapore Connect Maritime Digital Challenge, Torvald Klaveness provided a problem statement on “creating an app for seafarers to input clean data, to develop insights for sustainable shipping”. Teams from Singapore Management University, National University of Singapore and Singapore Polytechnic provided strong, viable, solutions! 

 

9.      To make sustainable shipping a reality, we need to conduct technoeconomic studies and trials on future fuels, quality assurance and abatement, as well as carbon capture, utilisation and storage. There are already several green shipping consortiums working with Singapore-based partners. For example, MPA is part of The Castor Initiative which aims to develop the first ammonia-fuelled tanker. We will be announcing more of such agreements and initiatives during this week. 

 

 

10.     Second, on bunkering. As a top bunkering hub, Singapore is committed to facilitating the industry’s multi-fuel bunkering transition. We have already conducted 24 ship to ship LNG bunkering. On biofuel bunkering trials, 5 bunker suppliers have supplied about 16,000 metric tonnes of biofuel to 10 ocean-going vessels. 

 

11.     We are also working on developing bunkering standards for future fuels such as ammonia. Through the Standards Development Organisation, MPA has set up technical committees for bunkering of ambient liquid fuels, and for bunkering of cryogenic and gaseous fuels. Once draft standards by these committees are ready, we will welcome inputs from green shipping consortiums to validate them. Internationally, MPA worked with the Port of Rotterdam, and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, to form the Future Fuel Port Network. We will work together on the development and harmonisation of standards for future fuels. 

 

 

12.     Finally, international collaborations. The maritime industry is globally intertwined. We need to work bilaterally, multilaterally and regionally to create, test and deploy sustainability solutions collaboratively. This requires all of us to participate actively in various areas. We have co-sponsored numerous key IMO submissions with our Nordic partners, such as on developing a workplan for mid- and long-term measures for the Initial IMO Strategy. Singapore is also glad to join Denmark and Norway as Core Members of the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission, and to contribute to the recently-developed Shipping Mission Roadmap. 

 

13.     Another platform for advancing international collaboration on decarbonisation, which we are proud of for its inclusiveness, is the IMO-Singapore NextGEN initiative. When we launched NextGEN, it was about getting projects together and sharing that information. If each one of us keeps information to ourselves, ideas would not snowball as there will be a lot of duplication. We will be launching the next phase, “NextGEN Connect”, at the IMO-Singapore Future of Shipping Conference this Wednesday. It will focus on ideating concrete solutions for inclusive maritime decarbonisation in Asia Pacific, and we look forward to the proposals submitted by our Nordic partners!

 

 

14.     I have mapped out our global challenges, and areas where global collaborations are needed. Our friendship and partnership with Nordic countries are strong. If we continue working together, we can propel actions forward. 

 

15.     Despite the distance, Singapore is closely monitoring developments in the Arctic. Melting polar ice caps pose a threat to low lying islands such as Singapore. As a maritime nation, Singapore is also interested in the possibilities for international shipping presented by the opening of the Northern Sea Route. Singapore and the Nordic countries have been cooperating closely on initiatives related to the Artic, both bilaterally and at multilateral fora such as the Arctic Council. 

 

16.     We are also privileged to host leading Nordic maritime companies in Singapore. The Maersk Group’s regional headquarters has been here for decades, while Wilhelmsen and Thyssenkrupp set up a Joint Venture in Singapore in 2020 to provide on-demand marine parts using additive manufacturing. 

 

17.     With Norwegian partners, we have successfully organised three editions of the International Maritime and Port Technology and Development Conference (MTEC). It has been well received as a platform for knowledge exchange and community building. This year, MTEC is held in conjunction with the International Conference for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships, (ICMASS) at Singapore Maritime Week. This combined conference has garnered more than 130 abstract submissions from 24 countries, spanning topics such as smart shipping, decarbonisation and maritime safety. 

 

18.     With Denmark – In 2021, both Maersk and the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping entered into a MOU with Keppel Offshore and Marine, Sumitomo Corporation, and Fleet Management Limited, among others. They aim to complete a supply chain feasibility study on green ammonia ship-to-ship bunkering in Singapore by 2025. The centre has also signed a MOU with the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, and we had a good discussion on what more they can do to bring the sector’s capabilities and knowledge on decarbonisation forward. And we look forward to their close collaboration.

 

19.     In addition, we had 2 Danish start-ups – Riverr and Kanda – that were finalists in Smart Port Challenge 2019. Both start-ups have since set up a presence in Singapore. Kanda has secured S$2 million in seed funding from Eastern Pacific Shipping and Tech-stars; while Riverr has secured US$1 million seed funding from KSL Maritime Ventures and SEEDS Capital.

 

20.     With Finland, Wartsila has been a key partners in smart and green shipping technology. With sea trails completed in 2020, the Intellitug was one of the first Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) trialled in our port waters. Riding on the good progress, Wartsila and MPA have extended our MOU, to collaborate on just-in-time port operations, e-Navigation inter-operability and secure port-to-ship data exchanges. With 5G networks to be rolled out in our waters, we can expect to see even more of such operations. 

 

21.     As for Sweden, Keppel and ABB are developing an autonomous tug. I congratulate the consortium on successfully completing trials in March, and on being the first vessel to obtain the MPA SRS Smart (Autonomous) notation.

 

22.     I am glad that we are furthering our collaborations. Today, SMI and the Research Institutes of Sweden, or RISE, will be signing an MOU. It will catalyse collaboration between the two research communities in common areas of interest, such as maritime informatics, supply chain innovation & efficiency, decarbonisation & sustainability, as well as safety & security. I hope this will be the start of a long and fruitful relationship between our maritime research ecosystems. 

 

23.     As I was just discussing with Andreas, my Danish counterpart, yesterday, there are just so many areas we can collaborate on. We were even discussing next steps, in areas such as regulatory sandbox, regulatory exchange and green shipping corridors. 

 

 

24.     Let me end by thanking all our Nordic partners here for your support over the years. I recall attending Nor-Shipping, as one of my first overseas trips after joining MPA. There was so much buzz and information exchange. Nordic countries have always been a front-runner in decarbonisation and technology advancement. Here in Singapore, we are ready to be a living lab, to trial and upscale technology at the global level. I look forward to more of such exchanges. Together, we can make this transition and transformation. Thank you very much.