12 September 2013

Mr Paul Apostolis, Chairman of Salvage and Wreck Asia Conference

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. I am pleased to join you at the Salvage and Wreck Asia Conference. This is an important conference which brings together the industry to discuss issues on marine casualty response, wreck removal, cargo recovery, towage, pollution, the environment, its challenges and how best to address them. I am confident that you will find this conference interesting and beneficial.

Challenges facing the salvage industry

Shipping plays a vital role in the world's economy as over 90% of world trade is carried by the international shipping industry. The world of shipping has changed significantly in the past decades. Recent developments have seen the emergence of mega ships which pose new operational challenges to salvors, who now have to consider using more specialized equipment, and develop new procedures to undertake salvage operations involving such mega ships.

Any incident involving mega ships could have a considerable impact on navigational safety and the marine environment. Bigger ships meant that more cargoes, container boxes, larger amounts of bunkers or chemicals, as well as increased numbers of passengers and crew would be transported. This will invariably complicate the salvage operations. We can appreciate the challenges faced by salvors today, for example, in conducting the salvage operations for Costa Concordia, while minimizing the impacts on the marine environment in the incident location.

The salvage of a stricken vessel is only one part of the entire effort in mitigating the effects of a marine incident. It is also crucial to manage any oil or chemical spills resulting from such incidents in a timely and effective manner. This will require close cooperation with many parties, including the national authorities. Contingency planning and training will also help the various parties involved to understand the complexities of the clean-up and salvage operations, and identify potential gaps in equipment or processes. The challenge is to get all the relevant parties to come together to jointly prepare for such marine incidents.

Singapore's commitment to safe and clean seas

As a major hub port along a very busy waterway, Singapore has substantive interests in ensuring the safety of lives at sea and protecting the marine environment. Prevention is key, and we place a strong emphasis on navigational safety to prevent marine incidents that could lead to groundings, cargo spills or even ship sinkings.

Towards this end, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (or MPA) recently upgraded its Port Operations Control Centre (POCC) at PSA Vista with the next generation Vessel Traffic Information System that can integrate critical information from various sources. The upgraded POCC, together with its sister facility at Changi, will enhance MPA's abilities to monitor and provide advisories to ships in Singapore's port waters, as well as in the Singapore Strait, thereby improving navigational safety and reducing the risk of accidents.

Despite our preventive efforts, marine accidents may still occur. It is thus important that we have in place a good framework of response capabilities, so that Singapore is ever ready and well-prepared to respond swiftly and effectively to any maritime accidents, be it a collision, fire at sea, chemical leaks, oil spills, groundings or sinkings.

MPA is the lead agency in Singapore to manage any maritime incidents within the Singapore Port Limits and the approaches to the port. MPA has in place the Marine Emergency Action Procedure (MEAP), which covers various types of marine emergencies, such as collision, grounding, fire and oil pollution. The most valuable feature of the plan is the up-to-date lists of response capabilities in Singapore and in the region. Various government agencies and private organisations, including salvage companies, spill response companies and major oil companies having their presence in Singapore, are parties to the plan.

MPA works closely with other government agencies to conduct regular multi-agency exercises such as the Chemical Spill Exercise, Joint Oil Spill Exercise, and Ferry Mishap Exercise, to ensure that all parties are familiar with the procedures, and their roles and responsibilities should a maritime incident occur.

As chemical and oil spills are often trans-boundary in nature, regional cooperation is equally vital. In this regard, Singapore works closely with the other littoral States (Malaysia and Indonesia) and the shipping industry through the Cooperative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection to ensure safe and clean shipping in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

Singapore as an attractive base for salvage companies

Strategically located between the East and West, Singapore sits on an advantageous geographical location, and has good infrastructure and connectivity to global markets. We are one of the world's busiest ports with shipping services connected to more than 600 ports in over 120 countries.

Singapore's pro-business environment has attracted many maritime companies to set up their businesses and bases here. Singapore is home to a vibrant maritime ecosystem with more than 5000 maritime establishments which includes more than 130 of the world's top international shipping groups, and a rich diversity of maritime service providers.

Being located in the heart of South East Asia, salvage companies located in Singapore are in a good position to respond to emergencies throughout the region. For example in the MV Rena case, a crane barge was sent from Singapore to Tauranga, New Zealand, to aid in the salvaging efforts for the container ship. Today, there is a total of 9 salvage companies in Singapore.

The Singapore government remains committed to attract international shipping and related services to establish and expand their operations in Singapore. In April this year, as part of the port dues review to simplify the port dues structure and streamline the various incentive schemes, MPA introduced a Salvage Vessel 12-Month Port Dues Scheme for salvage vessels to enjoy reduced port dues during their stay in Singapore. Under this scheme, the owner, agent or master of a salvage vessel approved by MPA that carry requisite salvage equipment and who commits to respond to MPA's mobilisation calls when the vessel is available, may opt to pay port dues for a 12-month period or part thereof with no restriction on its maximum stay and mooring locations.

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen, Singapore's unwavering commitment in adopting measures aimed at preventing and dealing with marine incidents over the years has borne positive results. We will continue to enhance our preventive measures and further strengthen our capabilities to provide prompt and effective response to any marine emergencies and work closely with our stakeholders. I look forward to your continued support and greater partnership in our collective mission to ensure that Singapore's port and waters remain clean, safe and secure for all ships.

On this note, I wish you an enjoyable and fruitful time at the conference. Thank you.