26 September 2013

Mr Patrick Phoon, President, Singapore Shipping Association

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Afternoon.

INTRODUCTION
 

It is an honour to be here this afternoon to present on the efforts to ensure safe, secure and clean shipping in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (also known as SOMS). I would like to thank the Singapore Shipping Association for inviting me to speak on this topic which is close to the hearts of many of us here.

Shipping accounts for more than 90 per cent of world trade and is the life blood of the world's economy. Asia, in particular, has seen an expansion in maritime trade and activities as a result of the strong economic growth of the last few decades. In fact, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that trade volumes in Asia will continue to grow in excess of 9% annually until 2016. This is significantly higher than the projected global average of about 5%. Container volumes in the Far East-Europe trade routes are expected to grow by over 4% annually from now to 2016, while the intra-Asia container trade are expected to grow even faster at over 6%.

The maritime sector plays a central role in sustainable development. However, sustainability issues faced by the maritime industry are complex and require the commitment of the international maritime community. It does not consist only of being or going "green".

NAVIGATIONAL SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Port State Control and Flag State Administration

By keeping SOMS open, safe and secure, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and our counterparts in Malaysia and Indonesia have an important role to play towards sustainable shipping. Badly managed traffic in the Straits lead to congestion, unwarranted delays and worse, to accidents. A smooth traffic in the SOMS leads to efficiency and reduces the risk of incidents that may result in pollution.

The first aspect I will talk about is Port State Control. Port State Control is necessary and critical to ensure navigational safety in port waters, as well as ensure that vessels in port waters do not carry out activities that harm the marine environment or even the atmospheric environment.

The "Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region", better known as the "Tokyo-MOU", is a useful platform to encourage close cooperation between 18 member States, in establishing an effective Port State Control regime in the Asia-Pacific region, and eliminating sub-standard shipping. Port State Control ensures that ships must rectify deficiencies that pose a hazard to health or the environment. There are also specific provisions dealing with the carriage of dangerous or polluting cargo, and provisions about discharging pollutants in the water. Essentially, a good, effective and coordinated Port State Control goes a long way towards making shipping a sustainable industry.

Flag state administration is the flip side of Port State Control. Effective implementation of both would yield optimal results. Where flag administrations have signed up to international convention, and uphold the standards and requirements in these conventions, much will be achieved for 'sustainable' shipping. Singapore Registry of Ships is among the top 10 ship registries in the world. As the flag administration, MPA is committed to promoting the highest standards of shipping, as well as implementing effective monitoring, implementation and enforcement mechanisms that promote safe and clean shipping. We hold regular dialogue with shipowners on the compliance of rules and regulations. Shipping companies affected by standards and requirements must have the ability to comply and we believe that a good understanding, on both sides, on how best to achieve full compliance is but a win-win situation.

Learning and Sharing

Shipping is a global business. The efforts towards sustainable shipping must also be international. On this front, Singapore supports the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Integrated Technical Co-operation Programme. Singapore signed an MOU with IMO on a Third Country Training Programme (or TCTP) in 1998. Under the MOU, Singapore provides funding and in-kind assistance to developing countries in Asia-Pacific (including the Middle East), Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Singapore itself was a recipient of technical assistance, we benefitted from it. The TCTP is how we pay it forward. To date, we have shared our expertise and developmental experience with over 1,400 participants from more than 70 countries.

Tripartite Technical Experts Group

Nearer to home, and directly relevant to shipping in this part of the world, the three littoral States of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore got together 38 years ago, in 1975, to form the Tripartite Technical Experts Group (or TTEG). We recognised the importance of keeping the SOMS safe and open for international navigation. The TTEG experts from the three maritime administrations meet annually to discuss issues on navigational safety, vessel traffic management and protection of the marine environment. Throughout the years, we find ways to collaborate and improve on these aspects in the SOMS.

One of the initiatives was the Routeing System. This System involved a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) for vessels moving in the Straits. The Routeing System was approved by the IMO in 1977 and implemented in 1981. Another major initiative of TTEG is the mandatory ship reporting system (or STRAITREP) which provides important situational awareness to ships transiting in the SOMS. The STRAITREP and the Routeing System complement each other. In particular, Singapore put in resources to make sure our capabilities for STAITREP are top-of-the-range, so that we can effectively manage a busy Strait and busy port for the benefit of international shipping.

Most recently, the TTEG agreed with Singapore's proposal for vessels crossing the TSS and precautionary areas in the Singapore Strait to display the night signals consisting of three all-round green lights in a vertical line, to be made a recommendatory measure. Such night signals could identify these vessels crossing the TSS during hours of darkness, and allow other vessels in the appropriate lanes to take actions if required, thereby enhancing navigational safety. This proposal was adopted by IMO's Maritime Safety Committee in November last year and became effective in June this year.

Cooperative Mechanism

Another important regional initiative is the Cooperative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection of the SOMS. Launched in 2007 as a result of a series of IMO-sponsored meetings under the IMO's "Protection of Vital Shipping Lanes" initiative, the Cooperative Mechanism facilitates close cooperation among the littoral States, user States and other stakeholders on issues of navigational safety and the protection of the marine environment. The Cooperative Mechanism serves as an important platform to exchange views and develop ideas on promoting sustainable development of the SOMS. The Cooperative Mechanism has received strong support from many user States.

I would say that the Cooperative Mechanism is significant because for the first time, the spirit and intent of Article 43 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was realised. Article 43 encourages User States and States bordering a strait to, by means of an agreement, cooperate in the establishment and maintenance of necessary aids to navigation, safety aids and other improvements in aids of international navigation, as well as cooperate on the prevention, reduction and control of pollution from ships.

The Cooperative Mechanism consists of three inter-connected components, namely, (i) the Cooperation Forum (CF), which is a platform for dialogue between the littoral States and the international maritime community on issues of common interests in the SOMS; (ii) the Project Coordination Committee (PCC) which co-ordinates the implementation of Straits Projects; and (iii) the Aids to Navigation Fund (ANF), which receives direct financial contributions from the international maritime community to maintain critical marine navigational aids in the SOMS. The three littoral States take turns to chair and host the Cooperative Mechanism and the TTEG meetings. Last year, Singapore hosted and chaired the meetings. Next month, it will be Indonesia's turn to host the meetings.

As members of the shipping community, you may be interested to know the Marine Electronic Highway (or MEH) project has been formally incorporated into the Cooperative Mechanism. The MEH will be the communications link between shore and transiting ships. In relation to the MEH project, the TTEG Meeting last year agreed to a new Straits Project on a "Concept Study on Real Time Monitoring of Under Keel Clearance (UKC) in the SOMS". This project will identify critical under-keel clearance areas, existing shore-based infrastructure, identify user needs for under-keel clearance and perform a "gap" analysis of all three aspects. Singapore will present the key findings and recommendations of the study at the 6th CF in October 2013.

As the Chairperson of the Aids to Navigation Fund Committee, I cannot but fail to stress the importance of devoting resources to maintain, upkeep and replace critical aids to navigation in the SOMS.

Maritime Singapore Green Initiative

So far, I presented on Singapore's efforts to ensure navigational safety and environmental protection in the SOMS. Our efforts do not stop here. We launched the Maritime Singapore Green Initiative in 2011 to encourage shipping companies in Singapore to come forward and play an active role in promoting clean and green shipping. The S$100 million Green initiative is a comprehensive initiative with three programmes, which are the Green Ship Programme, the Green Port Programme and the Green Technology Programme. We constantly enhance these programmes to encourage greater participation.

Let me elaborate on recent enhancements to the MSGI. For the Green Ship Programme, MPA expanded the Programme to recognise Singapore-flagged ships that adopt approved SOx scrubber technology that go beyond the IMO's emission requirements. We further reduced port dues, under the Green Port Programme, from 15% to 25%, for ocean-going vessels that burn clean fuels or use approved abatement technology throughout their entire stay in the Port of Singapore.

MPA is happy to note that as of end April 2013, 57 Singapore-flagged ships have been recognised as Green Ships under the Green Ship Programme, 1,259 vessel calls have enjoyed port dues concessions under the Green Port Programme and $11.8 million of co-funding have been approved under the Green Technology Programme.

So, the industry itself understands sustainable shipping, and government comes in to give a nudge or lend a helping hand.

Maritime Security

There is one aspect of my speech topic that I've not addressed, and that is "security". A secure SOMS is also necessary for sustainable shipping through this very vital shipping line, and for global maritime trade in general.

Within Asia, the Regional Cooperation on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, or "ReCAAP", came into force in 2006. ReCAAP is the first regional government-to-government initiative that specifically sought to address the problem of piracy and armed robbery in Asian waters. It does this through information sharing, watching and analysing trends, and, very importantly working with countries in the region to build capacity to combat piracy and armed robbery.

Seven years on, the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) continues to raise situational awareness among governments and the shipping industry, and continually increase capabilities and build capacities within government and law enforcement agencies to deal with piracy and armed robbery. For instance, last year, with valuable feedback from tugboat owners, and the joint effort of the Information Fusion Centre, ReCAAP ISC produced the Tugboats and Barges Guide to tackle the issue of attacks on tugs and barges.

What we have here in the SOMS itself, is the Malacca Strait Security Initiative where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore coordinate sea and air patrols to ensure the SOMS remain secure. This year marks the 9th year since the launch of the initiative. What we do is coordinate sea and air patrols by the three countries. We also involve a fourth neighbour, Thailand.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, SOMS is an important waterway which is used for international navigation and supports the bulk of the maritime trade between Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. In ensuring a safe, secure and clean SOMS, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and our stakeholders have an important role to play towards sustainable shipping.

Thank you.