UNCOVERING PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES IN CHINA’S MARITIME SECTOR
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
1. Thank you for inviting the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore to Ocean Expo Ningbo as the Guest Port of Honour. It is a great pleasure to join you this morning.
Collaborating for the future of the maritime sector
2. Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years, the global maritime sector has remained resilient. We continued to move goods around the world, and made good progress in our digital and green transformation – in just the last few months, shipping companies such as CMA CGM, PIL, MISC and Eastern Pacific Shipping committed to building greener vessels in the near future. We also made progress on digitalisation efforts such as electronic bills of lading.
3. However, the global supply chain remains fragile, with concerns over inflation and recession looming in the global economy. With ports congested, vessel supply constrained, and a labour crunch across most industries, schedule reliability for container ships remains low. The global economic outlook is also increasingly uncertain, while the emergence of new COVID-19 variants remains a concern. Recently, the World Bank slashed its global economic growth forecast for 2022 from 4.1% to 2.9%.
4. Regardless, we must stay the course to continue evolving. I would like to share three key priorities for Maritime Singapore – innovation, decarbonisation and talent – they all require international collaboration to make meaningful progress at the global levels.
a. On innovation, concrete technology solutions, such as drones, additive manufacturing and electronic documentation, are creating exciting opportunities. To maximise the potential of such solutions, common standards must be established to allow for seamless and secure operations.
b. Similarly, maritime decarbonisation will not be possible without coordinated action. We need port infrastructure to be ready for a multi-fuel bunkering transition. A globally-administered carbon pricing mechanism, such as a bunker-levy, would also help encourage the uptake of low and zero-carbon fuels and technologies, by sending the right price signals to the industry.
c. Finally, attracting talent. We need to raise the profile of our sector, andshowcase the exciting careers available. At the Port Authorities Roundtable (PAR) held in Abu Dhabi last month, my counterparts and I discussed organising a youth track for the next PAR, to engage the younger generation. The next PAR will be held in China, in Shanghai, after the 2017 edition was held here in Ningbo!
China-Singapore Collaborations
5. China and Singapore enjoy close maritime relations. PSA International works with its partners in China to operate deep-sea port terminals in six Chinese cities. Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, PSA container terminals in China achieved 9% volume growth in 2021. PSA is also a partner of China United International Rail Containers Co., Limited (CUIRC), which currently operates 13 terminals in China, and saw 6% volume growth in 2021. In Singapore, the COSCO-PSA joint venture terminal serves as an important hub for COSCO Shipping’s container transhipment in South-East Asia.
6. Beyond the port terminals, China’s Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) and MPA inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2021, relating to the promotion, acceptance and use of electronic certificates for seafarers and ships. To date, we have successfully conducted more than 10 trials for ships to facilitate electronic port clearance and remote Port State Control inspections. This will enhance the efficiency of port clearance processes for China- and Singapore-registered ships, and can serve as a benchmark for other ports on e-port clearance.
7. Let me now share two ideas about how we can move forward together, in Chinese. 展望未来，我相信新加坡海事及港务管理局与中方的同行们能通过进一步的合作取得更多的突破。今天，我想分享两个具体的想法。
a. 明天，新加坡国际港务集团 PSA将会分享他们在新加坡大士港口, Tuas Port,所会采用的先进技术。除了在创新方面的思想交流，新加坡与中方也可以为我们的海事业科技公司提供更多的跨境合作机会 。这些科技公司能够帮助两国的船运企业解决许多挑战，并且使我们的海事业更智能化，更先进。PIER71是新加坡海事业的科技初创企业加速器。8家来自PIER71的初创企业将会在明天的研讨会上展示他们的科技。我相信他们都很期待与中方的海事业公司合作。
b. 其次，新加坡海事局希望能够与志同道合的海事局探索绿色化与数码化海运走廊，通过执行试点试验来提高全球供应链的效率，和可持续性。我们能研究的方案包括协调港口清关流程以提高清关效率，和未来绿色航海燃料加注等，并进行可行性实验。我们相信这些试点试验的结果能够扶持国际海事组织等全球机构的工作。
Conclusion
8. Let me now conclude in English. I had shared two ideas where we can move forward together. I look forward to meeting all my Chinese friends soon, and to accelerating the maritime sector’s transformation. Wishing everyone a very fruitful conference ahead. Thank you.
