Singapore has set a new record of three billion gross tonnage in annual vessel arrivals so far in 2023, the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore has confirmed.
The three billion GT mark was crossed with the arrival of the 8,628 twenty-foot equivalent units (teu), 98,799 GT Singapore-flagged containership, ONE Olympus, at the Pasir Panjang Terminal on December 25.
The annual vessel arrival tonnage at the Port of Singapore for 2023 is expected to hit just over 3 billion GT in 2023, up from 2.83 billion GT in 2022.
Acting Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat attributed the milestone to Singapore’s strong cooperation between unions, industry and government.
“While others could try to replicate our hardware, infrastructure, technologies and operating systems…many find it difficult to replicate our trusted tripartite ecosystem in Singapore,” he said.
“This is one of the key elements which gives us an edge to stay ahead of the competition and to take Maritime Singapore to even greater heights”.
Port officials said that Singapore continues to be a choice port of call, and the intention is to continue working with all tripartite stakeholders to improve the efficiency and safety of the port.
The launch of the Just-in-Time (JIT) Planning and Coordination Platform on 1 October this year for vessels calling at PSA terminals and Jurong Port is one such initiative.
The JIT Platform will help to improve vessel turnarounds and optimise port calls, and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships, said Teo Eng Dih, MPA CEO.
“It will be extended progressively to all vessels calling into Singapore from January 2024.”
This achievement was marked at an event organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and was graced by Chee Hong Tat, Acting Minister for Transport.
