OPENING REMARKS FOR CE

FOR THE BRIEF FOR PORT OF ROTTERDAM LECTURE “THE PORT AND CITY OF ROTTERDAM – ERA OF TRANSITION”

1 MARCH 2016, 3.00PM AT MND COMPLEX ANNEX A, MND AUDITORIUM

1   Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

2   I would first like to thank the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) for the opportunity to moderate this session.

3   Before commencing with the Q&A session, I have been asked by the organisers to give a give a short overview of MPA’s current initiatives so as to provide a local context and basis for discussion.

4   Singapore has a thriving maritime ecosystem that comprises over 5,000 establishments employing more than 170,000 people, and contributing about seven per cent to the Republic’s gross domestic product. We are currently home to about 130 of the world’s top shipping groups, and serve as the Asian gateway for global leaders in shipping finance, shipbroking, risk management and marine insurance. Singapore is also a hub for maritime law and arbitration and is one of the top global players in the offshore and marine engineering industry.

5   A key cornerstone of our maritime ecosystem is our global hub port. Singapore’s port is connected to 600 ports in over 120 countries, and offers reliable and efficient cargo handling. Singapore is also one of the top bunkering ports in the world, lifting more than 45 million tonnes of bunkers in 2015. A wide range of essential marine services can be found in our port. This includes pilotage, towage, fresh water supply, ship supplies, and ship repairs and maintenance services.

6   To cater to future demand and to accommodate the relocation of the current container terminals when their leases expire, Singapore is building a new port in Tuas. Tuas Terminal will be developed in four phases over a period of 25 years and when fully developed, it will have capacity to handle up to 65M TEUs. The Terminal will consolidate all container terminal operations and port-related logistics and services at one location and will be designed to handle ultra large container ships. We are looking to leverage on technology and to deploy advanced port technologies to enhance efficiency, improve productivity and increase competitiveness of the port. In addition, we are studying new land-use concepts for integration with the container terminal and to incorporate more green open spaces and community orientated facilities to bring the port closer to the public in the Maritime Hub at Tuas. On the sustainability front, we will be looking into energy efficiency management systems to harvest renewable solar energy, manage demand and supply of electricity, tap into waste heat recovery and explore centralised common cooling facilities for the maritime hub. The ultimate aim is to create the Next Generation Port which is efficient, intelligent, safe, secure, clean, green and community oriented, and to set world class standards for the shipping industry.

7    Concurrently, Singapore is taking steps to prepare itself to be a LNG bunker-ready port when LNG becomes more viable as an alternate fuel. This will enable us to service a range of vessel types and sizes seeking to take LNG as a marine fuel. Singapore will be commencing our LNG bunkering pilot programme in 2017 as the platform to test the LNG bunkering procedures in Singapore. MPA has already implemented several initiatives, such as providing $12M funding under a LNG bunkering pilot programme to provide incentive for companies to build LNG-fuelled vessels. MPA had also recently awarded two LNG bunker supplier licences to the industry.

8    MPA and the Port of Rotterdam Authority already have a close working relationship as seen by our cooperation on multiple fronts. We have a Memorandum 2

of Understanding (MoU) to exchange information on bunkering and marine services, use of information technology to facilitate handling of and services to vessels to minimise congestion and raise efficiency at port, and to jointly collaborate on research and development (R&D) in the areas of LNG bunkering, innovation for green shipping and port optimisation. Current joint projects include harmonisation of LNG bunkering standards and procedures between Singapore and Rotterdam. MPA is also participating in the Port Call Optimisation taskforce initiated by the Port of Rotterdam to standardise and to exchange nautical and port information through common port systems to facilitate optimised port stay and raise efficiency in port. Tomorrow, MPA and the Port of Rotterdam and companies from the Netherlands and Singapore will have a Roundtable Discussion to explore common areas of interest, such as port development and automation, sustainable/green port, LNG bunkering and new fuels, and the use of data and maritime sense making.

9    We are also happy to note that Port of Rotterdam is organizing the 2nd Port Authorities Roundtable in June this year to share of best practices and realize closer cooperation between ports with regard to safety, security, efficiency and sustainability. Rotterdam participated in the inaugural Roundtable hosted by Singapore at last year’s Singapore Maritime Week (SMW), which saw participants from Ningbo, Busan, Tokyo, Australia and major ports in Southeast Asia. This year, we understand that there will be new participants including the Port of Hamburg and Port of Long Beach.

10    I hope we will continue to have such opportunities to learn from one another and exchange best practices. With this, may I invite the first question from the audience to our distinguished speakers.