Capt. Abdul Samad Bin Shaik Osman, Chairman of the Tokyo MOU Port State Control Committee,
Secretary and members of the Tokyo MOU Secretariat,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning, and to our overseas guests, a warm welcome to Singapore. I am pleased to join you for the opening of the Twenty-third Asia-Pacific Port State Control Committee Meeting of the Tokyo MOU in Singapore.

Since its establishment in 1994, the Tokyo MOU has played a key role in ensuring maritime safety, protecting the marine environment and safeguarding working and living conditions on board ships around the world. The Tokyo MOU is amongst the most active Port State Control regimes in the world and Singapore, one of the founding members, greatly appreciates the efforts of all 18 members of the Tokyo MOU in striving to eliminate sub-standard shipping in the region and to hold shipping to high standards.

As a major Flag State and Port State, Singapore takes our responsibilities very seriously. We set high standards for Singapore-flagged ships trading around the world. We also ensure that ships calling at the Port of Singapore do not endanger the environment or its crew. Last year, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's Port State Control officers conducted more than 1,300 inspections at our port. While the primary aim of these inspections was to determine if the ship had fulfilled its international safety and pollution-prevention requirements, they also provided valuable opportunities for our officers to understand the issues that the ship's crew faced and to advise the crew on best ship board practices.

It is heartening to note that our collective commitment to quality shipping has paid off. Through the continuous efforts of the Tokyo MOU and its members, significant progress has been made in the effective implementation of Port State Control in the Asia Pacific region. We are honoured to be a member of the Tokyo MOU.

The Tokyo MOU should be commended for its efforts in developing and implementing various initiatives under its master strategic plan. These included introducing new technical cooperation programmes, implementing new measures for under-performing ships, harmonising the deficiency coding system with the Paris MOU, developing the new Asia Pacific Computerised Information System and revamping the Tokyo MOU public website to make it more user-friendly.

We look forward to the introduction of a new inspection regime for Tokyo MOU to concentrate efforts on high-risk ships while rewarding quality shipping with a reduced inspection burden and the inclusion of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, or MLC 2006, into the Tokyo MOU inspection framework. I understand that these initiatives will be discussed later at this session.

As we all know, MLC 2006 will come into force on 20th August this year. This is a major milestone for the shipping community as MLC 2006 is expected to benefit and improve seafarers' conditions with decent work and labour standards. However like all new international conventions, we can expect to face new challenges during its implementation. For example, different competencies will be required by our Port State Control officers to carry out rigorous inspections and hence we will have to equip our officers with the relevant skill sets.

Ladies and gentlemen, the achievements of the Tokyo MOU are largely attributed to the commitment and ongoing efforts of every member of the Tokyo MOU. Moving forward, let us continue to work in partnership with each other, the Secretariat and the industry, to enhance quality shipping for the region and the world. On our part, MPA will continue to participate actively in the work of the Secretariat and Committee and provide our unwavering support.

On this note, I now have the pleasure to declare the Twenty-third Committee of the Tokyo MOU open, and I wish everyone here a fruitful meeting this week.

Thank you.