Opening remarks by Acting Minister for Transport Mr Chee Hong Tat at the Opening of the International Safety@Sea Conference

Mr Ishak Ismail, Chairman, National Maritime Safety at Sea Council,
Professor Kenneth Low, Chairman, Marine Industries Committee, Workplace Safety and Health Council,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1.     Good afternoon.

10 Years of Safety@Sea

2.     Thank you for joining us as we mark the 10th year of the Safety@Sea Singapore Campaign.

3.     We started the campaign in 2014 as an industry-wide effort to increase safety awareness and inculcate a safety-first culture at sea. 

4.     This is increasingly critical as we scale up our port operations and move towards bunkering of alternative fuels for shipping. 

5.     Collaboration with industry and unions is critical to achieve safety at sea. 

6.     The National Maritime Safety at Sea Council, as well as the four MPA-Industry Safety Work Groups focusing on safety of navigation, harbour craft, pleasure craft and regional ferry communities, have spearheaded various initiatives to instil a strong safety culture, sharpen safety policies, and improve information sharing.

7.     Our tripartite efforts have achieved good progress.

8.     The total number of safety incidents in our waters per 100,000 vessel movements has dropped by more than half over the past five years, from 17.8 in 2018 to 8.7 last year.

9.     So while this represents a good improvement, we must continue to improve our systems and processes to be ready for the incidents that do occur in our waters.

10.    Some of you may have read the recent news that a kayaker went missing off the coast of Sentosa yesterday.

11.    MPA is working closely with other agencies on an ongoing search and rescue operation.

12.    We hope the kayaker is alright and will be found soon.

13.    Some members of our maritime community in Singapore have reached out to MPA to offer their help in supporting search and rescue efforts in our waters.

a.     I want to thank the members of the National Maritime Safety at Sea Council for their support in this ground-up initiative. MPA will be developing a new volunteer programme for operators of recreational watercraft and pleasure craft.

b.     Volunteers will receive training to act as MPA’s additional “eyes” and “ears” if they are in the vicinity of a search and rescue operation within our port waters.

c.     With members of our maritime community complementing the efforts of our government agencies, I believe we can further enhance the safety of our seas for everyone.

d.     MPA will announce more details early next year, after it has finalised the implementation plans.  

Advancing Maritime Safety in a Green and Digital Age

14.    The theme for this year’s International Safety@Sea Conference is “Advancing Maritime Safety in a Green and Digital Age”.

15.    The green and digital transition will transform the operations of the maritime sector, presenting new opportunities and challenges for safety at sea.

16.    In some cases, innovations can enable improvements in both efficiency and safety at the same time.

a.     One example is digital bunkering.

b.     On 1 November 2023, MPA will launch the digital bunkering initiative, which makes available mobile and cloud applications to digitalise documentation such as electronic bunker delivery notes (e-BDNs).

c.     e-BDNs will reduce the occurrence of errors and fraud, and save time and money for businesses. 

d.     They will also improve safety for cargo officers by removing the need for them to cross between vessels to complete and exchange documentation. 

e.     I would encourage our industry players to make good use of e-BDNs.

f.     MPA will work with Enterprise Singapore and Workforce Singapore to help interested companies to adopt digital bunkering solutions, by providing training subsidies as well as support for your workers.

g.     Help is available, but businesses also need to take the initiative to embark on the journey.

h.      Another example of innovations that improve both efficiency and safety is maritime 5G, which will be a key enabler for new technologies such as maritime autonomous surface ships and drones to operate in our port waters.

i.     I am glad to announce that MPA, IMDA and one of our telcos M1 have recently completed Phase 1 of their maritime 5G plans, providing coverage in the waters around our southernmost islands. 

j.     With maritime 5G, we can improve accessibility to healthcare for seafarers in our port. 

k.     For example, M1 and Fullerton Health will use maritime 5G to improve the audio and visual quality for telemedicine consultations, and to provide drone delivery of medication for seafarers. 

l.     This reduces the need for seafarers to be transferred to shore for medical assistance. If you have a serious illness, you will still need to be transported to shore. But for other illnesses that can be dealt with through telemedicine, this saves time and is safer for everyone.

17.    In other cases, pushing the frontier will introduce new challenges and potential safety risks.

18.    This does not mean that we should not press ahead.

19.    Rather, we must take steps to mitigate and minimise possible downsides, so that new processes and technologies can be implemented safely and effectively.

20.    First, we must design our new systems and equipment with safety as a priority.

a.     This has been MPA’s approach in the adoption of electric harbour craft in our waters.

b.     In July this year, MPA issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) which called for proposals from the industry to design and develop safe and efficient electric harbour craft.

c.     MPA has received 55 proposals from over 70 local and international companies and consortiums.

d.     MPA will update the industry on its evaluation of the proposals by the end of the year.

21.    Second, we must work with key stakeholders to develop safety processes and standards to govern the use of new technologies and fuels.

a.     For example, MPA facilitated the conduct of the first ship-to-containership methanol bunkering operation in our port waters in July this year.

b.     28 government, research, and industry partners worked together for a year to develop rigorous safety procedures, through operational and risk assessments, computational modelling, and validation at sea. It was a team effort, but with the entire maritime Singapore community. 

c.     With the experience from July’s methanol bunkering operation, Maritime Singapore stakeholders have greater confidence in handling methanol safely.

d.     As the next step, MPA will launch a Request for Information (RFI) for methanol bunkering supply in the coming months, to gauge the industry’s interest in supplying methanol in Singapore.

e.     This will eventually lead to a future Request for Proposal for methanol bunkering licences.

22.    Third, we must exercise our capabilities in responding to new contingencies that may arise, learning from experience in controlled settings so that we can have confidence in our operational readiness. I acknowledge that the exercises cannot comprehensively cover everything, but if we design them well and work closely with our tripartite partners, it is a good opportunity to run through our processes and look at communications amongst different partners and stakeholders. It’s like training for a marathon: you need to start at the gym for shorter distances to build up your stamina and muscles first. These are the components that will eventually come together and allow us to respond better. Likewise, we shouldn’t wait for something to happen and scramble if we’re unprepared; we need to start now when things are peaceful. 

a.     As an example, Singapore is preparing to deal with potential safety incidents involving battery-powered vessels, given that the number of electric harbour craft plying our waters will increase in the coming years.

b.     Batteries on electric vessels can generate heat that is twice as intense as conventional fires, and an uncontrolled increase in temperature within the battery could result in an explosion.

c.     Batteries can also produce toxic and flammable gases which need to be vented off in an emergency. It’s not risk-free to switch from conventional batteries, but there are a lot of benefits such as reducing carbon emissions and pollution. But we need to be aware of the risks and then prepare ourselves – not just MPA but the whole industry. 

d.     Hence, this year’s Ferry Rescue Exercise (FEREX) during Safety@Sea Week will be conducted with an electric ferry for the first time, providing an opportunity for agencies to gain experience in responding to new scenarios that may arise with battery-powered vessels.

Conclusion

23.     Maritime Singapore has come a long way in enhancing maritime safety over the 10 years since MPA launched the Safety @ Sea campaign.

24.    As the world’s busiest transhipment hub port that is poised for future growth, safety is vital for our continued success. When ships come to Singapore, we want to make sure that they come safely and leave safely. We also want to ensure that their workers, both our seafarers and port workers, have the confidence that when they work in our maritime sector, they will be kept safe so that they’re able to return home safely.

25.    We must persevere in our collective efforts to further improve our safety standards, even as our operating environment grows increasingly complex. As I have shared with our tripartite partners previously, this is no different from how we came together to collectively tackle challenges. During COVID-19, that was what we did; we overcame challenges caused by the pandemic. When we were looking for innovations, that was what we did; we came together and discussed new ways of working together. The same applies to safety; it is better for us to come together and leverage our respective strengths and resources and put safety at the heart of everything we do. 

26.    I have every confidence that our maritime community will be able to rise to this challenge.

27.    Thank you.