Opening Remarks by Mr Murali Pillai, Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Transport, at the Opening of the Singapore Safety@Sea Conference 2024

Mr Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore,

Mr Ishak Ismail, Chairman, National Maritime Safety at Sea Council,

Dr Kenneth Low, Chairman, Marine Industries Committee, Workplace Safety and Health Council,

Sister Mary Liew, General Secretary, Singapore Maritime Officers' Union,

Our friends from overseas,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

1.     Good morning and a very warm welcome to the opening of the Singapore Safety@Sea Week 2024.

2.     The theme for this year is: “All Hands on Deck: Safety First”. It is an apt theme, especially in light of the incidents that have occurred this year, which serve as sombre reminders of the impact incidents at sea can have on vessels and crew as well as the wider public and the marine environment. It also reminds us of the importance of preparedness, coordination, and responsiveness, and the duty we owe to the maritime personnel who ensure the seamless functioning of Maritime Singapore and the global supply chain.

3.     Firstly, our preparedness in planning for and dealing with various scenarios enables us to respond to incidents effectively.

4.     Secondly, the annual Ferry Rescue Exercise, or FEREX is one platform where we exercise our capabilities and tighten coordination with our partners in a controlled setting. This helps to validate our models, stress test our plans, and ultimately elevate our operational readiness.

5.     Thirdly, community partners make a difference to our collective responsiveness to incidents. For example, in the aftermath of the oil spill caused by an allision between a dredger and bunker tanker in June this year, more than 1,500 members of the public came forward to indicate their interest to help with the cleaning operations. I would like to thank our volunteers for their tireless contributions.

6.     As we look to decarbonise the maritime industry, it is imperative that we have all hands on deck to address new areas of risk when we transit to new green fuels such as ammonia, methanol and hydrogen. There are unique challenges that we must consider for each of these fuels and safety must remain our top priority. The government, industry and community all have a role to play. Allow me to elaborate on each of their roles:

Paving the way for the energy transition and ensuring safety

 7.     The government will continue to lead the industry’s transition to future fuels and enhance its safety by developing standards, ensuring our collective readiness and deploying digital technology to monitor, pre-empt, and respond to incidents in our waters.

Ensuring our collective readiness for the energy transition

8.     MPA has been actively working with like-minded partners to pilot trials for the bunkering of alternative marine fuels in Singapore, so that the industry can begin developing standards to govern their safe use. These trials are important to support Singapore’s assessment of these alternative marine fuels, and are critical to the development of standards and safety procedures, as well as crew training and curriculum.

9.     In addition to these pilots, government agencies will continue our close collaboration with partners to develop new procedures to respond to emerging challenges. This year, FEREX will simulate the collision of two domestic ferries – one a traditional diesel-powered vessel, and the other an electric harbour craft. The inclusion of an electric vessel allows us to review our readiness to deal with safety incidents involving newer vessel types, as the risks and responses required to respond to them are very different.

Deploying technology to enhance safety

10.    Besides ensuring readiness for the energy transition, the government is also actively developing and deploying new technology to enhance our capabilities in monitoring, pre-empting, and responding to incidents in our waters.

11.    The Next Generation Vessel Traffic Management System and Digital Twins are examples of new systems that MPA has been developing to enhance the navigational safety of the Singapore Strait and port waters. These systems leverage technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality to enable the identification of potential traffic and incident hotspots, and validation of the corresponding incident management plans. The Next Generation Vessel Traffic Management System will be ready by 2027 and the first phase of the Digital Twin of Singapore port waters will be ready by the end of next year.

12.    In addition to dealing with physical incidents, we must also prepare the maritime ecosystem for incidents that may occur in the digital sphere. To assist companies in securing their digital systems and uplift the cybersecurity resilience of the maritime eco-system, MPA has developed the Maritime Cyber Assurance and Operations Centre, or MCAOC. I am heartened that 14 partners have stepped forward to trial our operating concept, new systems, and range of services, since the launch of Phase 1 in April this year.

13.    MCAOC will provide real-time cybersecurity monitoring of partners’ cybersecurity systems, disseminate information on cyber threats for members to take early actions, and offer advisories on system recovery and response measures. By aggregating the demand from companies in Singapore for these cybersecurity services, MCAOC will be a cost-effective option that mitigates the constraint of a limited talent pool of cyber professionals. We are looking forward to onboarding more companies in the coming months.

Partnering with industry to develop initiatives that improve safety outcomes

14.    Moving on to the role of the industry – industry partnership is critical in enhancing safety at sea.

15.    Digital bunkering is one example. Digital bunkering solutions, which are developed by industry and whitelisted by MPA, will enhance the safety and reliability of bunkering operations in Singapore by digitalising workflows and reducing reliance on paper documentation. This reduces the movement of personnel between vessels to obtain and validate such documentation, thereby improving safety. Furthermore, the transparency and accuracy of information afforded by digital bunkering also provide greater assurance to ships taking bunker from Singapore. The industry-led Singapore Standards Council is also developing a new Specification for digital bunkering supply chain documentation and revising the existing Code of Practice of Bunker Mass Flow Metering to support electronic bunkering documentation.

16.    In the near future, MPA will be requiring the industry to adopt digital bunkering and submit electronic bunker delivery notes by default. A majority of bunker suppliers have come onboard since the initiative was launched last November, and I strongly encourage suppliers who have not done so to implement digital bunkering.

17.    We have also collaborated with industry to equip the global maritime workforce with the necessary skills and competencies to handle and operate vessels using alternative fuels safely. During Singapore Maritime Week this year, Minister Chee announced that MPA will be establishing the Maritime Energy Training Facility (METF) with 22 partners, comprising global marine engine manufacturers, international organisations, classification societies, trade associations, unions, and institutes of higher learning.

18.    I am pleased to share that preparations for the METF to be operational by 2026 are progressing well. We expect to train around 10,000 seafarers and other maritime personnel at METF from its launch till the 2030s.

Mobilising the community to enhance safety 

19.    Lastly, we will also mobilise the community to further enhance safety at sea. Over the last few months, MPA has worked together with key members of the pleasure craft community and marina managers to develop the Safer Seas Volunteer Programme. Volunteers will receive training related to search efforts for man overboard incidents and be equipped with basic first aid including CPR and AED skills before they are deployed to augment search and rescue operations coordinated by MPA in Singapore waters.

20.    Today, 17 volunteers will be receiving their letters of appointment under the pilot run of the Safer Seas Volunteer Programme. Our volunteers come from a range of diverse backgrounds, with the youngest at under 25 years of age, and part of a father- daughter duo. We also have a husband-and-wife team who are proficient jet-ski riders, and other passionate members from the pleasure craft community who have stepped forward to support search efforts. Some of them will also be participating in FEREX this Thursday. I thank the volunteers for their enthusiasm and dedication towards improving safety in our waters, and I look forward to their contributions.

21.    Feedback from the wider community is also important as we develop guidelines to improve safety. The Workplace Safety and Health Council, together with industry stakeholders, are jointly producing the Workplace Safety and Health Guidelines for Personal Floatation Devices for Life Jackets. The Guidelines will feature good practices on the use and maintenance of life jackets for different work environments, in line with international standards. The Workplace Safety and Health Council has just completed a two-week consultation exercise with the industry in July, and will be launching a four-week public consultation from today. I encourage all of you to provide your feedback to help us strengthen the guidelines.

Conclusion

22.    To conclude, I am heartened by the strong support for safety as evidenced by the turnout today. With our “all hands on deck” spirit, and everyone – government, industry and the community – doing our best to improve our safety systems, procedures and emergency responses, we can chart a course towards a safer, more sustainable future for all.

23.    I wish you a meaningful and insightful Conference ahead. Thank you.