31 January 2005

Singapore achieved strong port and maritime growth in 2004. This is reflected in the new records set by the Port of Singapore in the key areas of shipping tonnage, cargo throughput, container throughput, bunker sales and ship registration.

Shipping Tonnage

The Singapore port retained its position as the world's busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage establishing a historic milestone in the process. In 2004, total vessel arrivals in terms of shipping tonnage stood at 1.04 billion gross tons (GT), crossing the one billion mark for the first time in Singapore's history. This is a growth of 5.7 per cent over 2003. The record was achieved despite a marginal decline in the total number of vessel calls, from 135,386 in 2003 to 133,185 in 2004.

Container and Cargo Throughput

Healthy growth rates were also recorded for container and cargo throughput. Container traffic for Singapore jumped 15.9 per cent over 2003 to hit 21.3 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in 2004. The total cargo tonnage handled by the port also registered double-digit percentage growth over the previous year. A total of over 393 million tonnes of cargo was handled by the port in 2004, an increase of 13.1 per cent over 2003.

Bunker Sales

In terms of bunker sales, Singapore retained its position as the number one bunkering hub in the world by setting a new benchmark of 23.6 million tonnes sold in 2004. This figure outstripped the 20.8 million tonnes of bunkers sold in 2003 by 13.3 per cent.

The Singapore Registry of Ships

Singapore has also continued to increase the tonnage of ships under its flag. While remaining the largest merchant fleet in Asia, the Singapore Registry of Ships also grew from being the 7th to the 6th largest merchant fleet in the world. As of end 2004, there were 3,109 ships under the Singapore flag totalling 27.7 million GT. This is an 8.4 per cent increase from 25.6 million GT at the end of 2003.

Moving forward, RAdm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Chief Executive, MPA said: "The MPA will continue to review its policies to ensure that the Port of Singapore remains competitive and to sustain its strong growth performance. In addition, we will continue to work closely with the maritime industry to further develop a conducive and pro-business maritime environment to further enhance Singapore's position as an International Maritime Centre and as a choice port of call."

About the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was established on 2 February 1996 as a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport with the key functions of developing and promoting Singapore as a premier global hub port and an international maritime centre, and to safeguard Singapore's strategic maritime interests. As the newly designated 'Champion Agency', the MPA is tasked with expanding the Singapore maritime sector by developing a strong and attractive cluster of ancillary services. These range from, among others, ship broking/management, marine insurance/finance, maritime legal/arbitration services, R&D initiatives, and manpower expertise.

Singapore's Shipping Tonnage, Container Throughput and Bunker Sales - 2000 to 2004

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