Mr Lucien Wong, Chairman MPA,

Friends and partners from the maritime community,

Ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon. I am pleased to join you for the opening of the Singapore Maritime Gallery.

Singapore's Maritime Story
Maritime trade has always been an important component of Singapore's economy. Strategically located at the crossroads of the East-West seaborne trade routes, modern day Singapore began as a small entrepot trading post about 200 years ago. These maritime roots formed the foundation of Singapore's subsequent development. Today, Singapore is a global hub port and home to more than 5,000 maritime companies, employing over 170,000 people. The maritime industry continues to be an important pillar of our economy, consistently contributing about 7% of Singapore's GDP.

The growth of Maritime Singapore is an important part of our heritage and offers many lessons for current and future generations of Singaporeans. I am therefore pleased that the MPA has decided to develop the Singapore Maritime Gallery to provide a comprehensive narrative of Singapore's maritime story.

One key lesson depicted in the Gallery is how Singapore's leaders demonstrated keen foresight when they made a bold and strategic decision in 1967 to prepare Singapore for the era of container shipping. Back then, containers were carried on board conventional ships and dedicated container handling berths were just starting to be built in the US, Europe and Japan. But our leaders recognised that containerisation would one day revolutionise the shipping industry and Singapore's first container terminal was launched in 1972. The rest, as they say, is history. Our port has since grown rapidly to become one of the world's busiest container ports, capitalising on our first mover advantage and the economic dynamism of Asia.

Career Opportunities in Maritime Singapore

Maritime Singapore is not just about our global hub port. We have also grown a dynamic maritime cluster that spans a wide range of maritime activities from ship management and other ancillary maritime services, to offshore and marine engineering, and maritime education and research and development.

The Singapore Maritime Gallery showcases this diversity of Maritime Singapore and how we have developed into a leading International Maritime Centre. You can also learn from the Gallery about the myriad of career opportunities that Maritime Singapore has to offer.

For example, an aspiring seafarer can get a feel of steering and berthing a ship using the Gallery's ship bridge simulator. There is also a Vessel Traffic Information System console that enables visitors to experience the challenging task of managing vessel traffic. Visitors can also learn how Singapore has emerged as a global leader in the offshore and marine engineering industry, and the various types of maritime services that are provided in Singapore.

Singapore's Contributions to the International Maritime Community

The Gallery also showcases how we have gone beyond our shores to establish Singapore as a leading voice in the international maritime community. Singapore has made many important contributions to the International Maritime Organization and other maritime fora, especially in enhancing maritime safety and security and protecting the marine environment.

A Concerted Effort by the Maritime Community

The Singapore Maritime Gallery is a reflection of the strong partnership between the MPA and its maritime partners. This Gallery and the stories it tells would not have been possible without your support and contributions. Many of you have in fact played instrumental roles in developing Maritime Singapore and I am heartened that the Gallery features captains of our maritime industry, one of whom has joined us for this occasion.

Conclusion

On this note, I would like to congratulate MPA and its partners for the successful development of the Singapore Maritime Gallery.

It is now my pleasure to declare the Gallery open.