The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) continues its push to develop industry-wide capabilities through strengthening R&D, piloting maritime technologies (MarineTech), and developing maritime cybersecurity capabilities to strengthen the industry’s resilience and capacities to handle disruptions.

MarineTech – A focus on digitalisation, innovation and partnership

2. Rebranded from the Singapore Maritime Technology Conference, the MarineTech Conference is held from 5 to 6 April 2022, and brings together global industry leaders and stakeholders to speak on key growth areas for investment, emerging technology trends, start-up showcases and demand outlook for maritime technology. Experts will also put forward a roadmap on developments in maritime cybersecurity, data analytics, and the latest applications for smart port and shipping automation. Two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between MPA and industry partners were also signed at the conference.

3. Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State for Transport, delivered the opening address at the conference. “The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of new technologies by businesses and individuals, and opened up new collaborations across geographies and sectors. This provides opportunities for MarineTech companies to start-up and scale-up. With support from our tripartite partners and research institutions over the years, Singapore is now home to a thriving MarineTech ecosystem. We will build on this momentum to achieve our aspiration of becoming the Silicon Valley for MarineTech, focusing on digitalisation, innovation, and partnerships,” he said.

Launch of the Maritime Singapore Additive Manufacturing Landscape Report

4. At the conference, Mr Chee also announced the launch of the Maritime Singapore Additive Manufacturing Landscape Report to provide a roadmap for companies to experiment with new practices in additive manufacturing. Titled ‘Charting the Way Forward’, the landscape report provides an overview of maritime additive manufacturing capabilities in Singapore, and shares learning points from previous trials and adoption processes. This is the first joint publication developed by MPA together with the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster and Singapore Shipping Association (SSA).

MOU to strengthen maritime cybersecurity collaboration among the Industry

5. During the opening segment of the conference, SSA announced an MOU with MPA and seven industry partners – BW Maritime Pte Ltd, Eastport Maritime Pte Ltd, Ocean Network Express Pte Ltd, Orient Maritime Agencies Pte Ltd, Pacific Carriers Limited, Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd and Thome Ship Management Pte Ltd to strengthen cybersecurity capabilities of the maritime industry in Singapore.

6. The MOU will establish the Maritime Cybersecurity Roundtable where participants will recommend initiatives to improve maritime cybersecurity collaboration through information sharing, growing a leading talent pool for maritime cyber skills in Singapore, and facilitating greater awareness and access to maritime cyber solutions and talents. The inaugural Roundtable meeting will be held later this year.

MOU between MPA and Jurong Port Pte Ltd (JP) to enhance resilience of next-generation multipurpose port

7. MPA also announced the renewal of the MOU with JP at the MarineTech Conference, extending the collaboration for five years until 4 April 2027. This is the second renewal, with the first MOU establishing a partnership from Oct 2011 to Oct 2016, and the second MOU reaffirming the collaboration from Apr 2017 to Apr 2022.

8. With a programme budget of S$28 million, the latest MOU aims to enhance the resilience of JP as a next-generation multipurpose port, by focusing on collaboration across four broad themes: Automation and Mechanisation, Sustainability and Future Green Fuels, Digitalisation, and Safety and Security. This MOU is aligned with the refreshed Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map for Singapore to take active steps to bolster the sea transport sector and respond to global trends affecting the maritime sector. More details about the MOU can be found in Annex A.

Expanded Sea Transport Industry Digital Plan (IDP)

9. The Sea Transport IDP for Ship Agency, Harbour Craft and Bunkering was first launched by MPA in 2020 to encourage digital transformation by companies, through a step-by-step guide on digital solutions to adopt at each stage of their growth. It is a joint initiative with Infocomm Media Development Authority, Enterprise Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore as part of the SME Go Digital Programme.

10. The Sea Transport IDP has been expanded to include all subsectors in Sea Transport, such as ship chandlers, ship brokers, marine surveyors, ship management, and ship operators. MPA will also extend funding support for adoption of pre-approved digital solutions beyond 31 December 2022 to benefit eligible maritime companies on an ongoing basis. With the expansion, more than 3,000 SMEs in the Sea Transport subsectors will be eligible to apply for co-funding.

11. This year, a Maritime Go Digital booth has been set up at the MarineTech Exhibition in SMW 2022. Participants can visit the booth to seek advice from industry practitioners and digitalisation ambassadors on the steps and resources available for Maritime SMEs to begin their digital transformation journey.

Partnering for the future of maritime

12. Other industry agreements that were signed in conjunction with Innovation@SMW include:

(i) Skyports-Wilhelmsen and Skyports-Thome MOUs to develop and test the concept of operations for end-to-end service delivery in preparation for commercialisation of the drone delivery services for the maritime industry in Singapore;

(ii) Singapore Polytechnic-Molyworks MOU to accelerate the adoption of metal AM and metal recycling technology for maritime and offshore industry; and

(iii) Singapore Maritime Institute and Research Institutes of Sweden MOU to collaborate in maritime R&D covering maritime informatics, supply chain innovation and efficiency, decarbonisation and sustainability as well as safety and security.

For more details on these agreements, please refer to Annex B.