Opening Remarks by Senior Minister of State for Transport Mr Murali Pillai at the MaritimeONE Case Summit 2026 Awards Ceremony

Human Connections Across the Seas

Mr Hor Weng Yew, Chairman,

Singapore Maritime Foundation,

SMF Board Members, Industry partners,

Distinguished guests and students,

Introduction

1.             Good evening. I am delighted to join you at the MaritimeONE Case Summit Award Ceremony.

2.             We meet at a critical juncture for the maritime sector, with profound shifts in technology, energy and global trade reshaping the industry.

a.             Digitalisation and artificial intelligence are transforming operations.

b.             The energy transition is changing how ships are powered.

c.              Shifts in global trade and supply chains are making resilience increasingly important.

3.             We meet too at a time of great changes in human society. In an age of artificialness, more of us, especially young people, are disconnected and lonely.

4.             Across OECD countries, fewer young people are meeting their friends daily – the proportion of 16–24-year-olds who do this fell from 53% in 2006 to 36% in 2022. Only a third now meet their friends daily.

5.             This year’s MaritimeONE Case Summit takes place against this backdrop. Participants were challenged to meet and work together and develop solutions to address real challenges faced by the maritime industry – from sustainability and energy resilience to technology and operational decision-making.

a.             What are the challenges?

b.             How can shipping companies optimise bunkering decisions?

c.              How can companies track and reduce emissions?

d.             And amid geopolitical tensions, how can countries and businesses strengthen energy security?

6.             More than 370 students across different universities and polytechnics participated in this year’s MaritimeONE Case Summit. The proposals submitted brought together expertise ranging from digitalisation and financial hedging to sustainability, engineering and policy.

7.             Take Team Seanergy, comprising three students from NUS and NTU studying business analytics and computer engineering. They took on AET’s challenge to optimise crude tanker lightering operations, and developed models to help companies better manage scheduling disruptions.

8.             Their work illustrates how skills in data analytics and engineering can be applied to solve real operational challenges in maritime, and the opportunities the industry offers to students from diverse academic backgrounds. This is the power of human connection, and the ability of humans, not just as individuals but as a collective, to tackle large problems.

9.             These challenges in the maritime sector are not abstract. They reflect the evolving nature of our maritime work and what a career in maritime entails today – working across disciplines to grapple with complex, real-world problems, and navigate constant change with partners, colleagues and friends.

A Maritime Career

10.          This is an exciting time to consider a career in maritime. When people think about maritime careers, they often picture life at sea or working at the port rain or shine.

11.          But Maritime Singapore offers much more than that. Today, a career in maritime could mean working in technology and innovation, finance and insurance, sustainability, law, shipbroking, or operations.

12.          This range of opportunities continues to grow, as the maritime sector transforms through technology and the energy transition, opening up new and diverse career pathways. For example,

a.             Singapore is testing remote pilotage and autonomous vessel technologies, which could change how some maritime work is performed at sea and from shore.

b.             We are also conducting trials with AI-enabled sensors and autonomous systems for maritime surveillance and hydrographic operations, which could improve efficiency and safety while reducing personnel exposure to hazardous conditions.

13.          On the energy transition front we are advancing our capabilities across methanol, LNG, biofuels and ammonia.

a.             Just last week, Singapore conducted its first ethanol bunkering operation, testing how our existing standards and processes could be adapted for ethanol.

b.             These efforts will enable us to prepare for a multi-fuel future, to support the different needs of the shipping industry, while building the infrastructure, safety standards and workforce capabilities needed for the safe adoption of new fuels.

14.          Against this backdrop, a plethora of new roles are also emerging – from drone operators to data analysts and sustainability professionals to cybersecurity specialists. Whether your background is in engineering, computer science, data science, sustainability, business, finance or law, there is a place for your skills in this industry.

15.          Take Lim Wan Loong, a MaritimeONE alumnus who pursued a double degree in Accountancy and Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at NTU. He had never considered a career in maritime until an internship with Stamford Shipping in 2023. Despite having no prior maritime knowledge, he took on the challenge of developing a machine learning model to analyse maritime market data and support investment decisions, learning about the industry as he refined the model. Today, he is a Quantitative Analyst at Stamford Shipping. His journey shows how skills from outside traditional maritime disciplines can open doors in the sector.

16.          And there are more such opportunities available, for young talents like yourselves.

a.             Between June 2025 and June 2026, employment in Singapore’s maritime sector grew at 1.5%, including resident employment which grew at 1.1% over the same period.

b.             This is particularly encouraging at a time when the broader labour market is softer and there is considerable uncertainty in the global economy.

17.          Maritime has remained resilient. After all, whatever happens in the world, goods still need to be shipped, and global trade needs to keep moving. The maritime sector is not just expanding; it continues to create good jobs for our people. Looking ahead, maritime companies in Singapore have indicated plans to hire more than 400 people over the next three years.

18.          I encourage you to find out more about these opportunities and how you can be part of this vibrant and exciting community. “Be Among Giants” is my call to you to be one of us in the maritime community.

Shaping the Future of Maritime Singapore

19.          To shape the longer-term future of Maritime Singapore, the Ministry of Transport and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore are developing the Maritime Singapore Master Plan to chart the next bound   towards 2050 and beyond.

20.          We want to strengthen Singapore as a global hub port and International Maritime Centre, lead in maritime innovation and AI, and to develop a future-ready maritime workforce.

21.          Talent will be critical to delivering our ambitions. The Masterplan will have a dedicated focus on developing strategies to grow our talent pipeline and ensure that Maritime Singapore has the people and the skills it needs for the future.

22.          Here, I want to say a bit more about the power and the magic of community. I spoke earlier about how fewer young meeting are meeting their friends daily.

23.          Young people also experienced some of the largest deterioration across measures of loneliness, relationship satisfaction and perceived social support.  

24.          In Singapore, a recent Institute of Policy Studies survey found that respondents aged 21–34 recorded the highest mean loneliness scores, alongside higher anxiety about speaking to others in person, and a stronger preference for communicating online rather than face-to-face.  

25.          Singapore has always placed importance on developing our people. At a time where so many of us are confronted with technologies and artificial intelligence, it becomes even more important to develop our talent, not just in terms of skills and hard expertise, but in the capacities to work in teams, harness key ideas, and to solve problems together.

26.          This is the work of the Singapore Maritime Foundation, helmed by Mr Hor Weng Yew, especially SMF’s Taskforce for Maritime Manpower Development, which is finalising its recommendations to expand career pathways and strengthen the competitiveness of the Maritime Singapore workforce. These will feed into the Master Plan, with more details expected early next year. I thank SMF, our tripartite partners, and industry representatives for their contributions.

Building Pathways into Maritime

27.          I recently participated in two focus group discussions on maritime careers, hearing from students, educators and career coaches.

28.          One message stood out: young people do not just want opportunities to work with new technologies, they want to contribute to something beyond themselves – to make our planet more sustainable, to solve meaningful problems and to see the world. Those who attempted the case studies would have achieved, or have at least gone a long way in achieving this.

29.           These are all opportunities within maritime.

30.          Our task is to help students experience the industry earlier. To show young people like yourselves that there is a community waiting to welcome you, that there is no need to be anxious when speaking to us, and that this is a place where you can fully flourish using your skills and talents.

31.          At Singapore Maritime Week this year, we announced new programmes conducted by Institutes of Higher Learning in vessel management, maritime business, engineering and maritime operational technology cybersecurity.

32.           We are also exploring ways to introduce more students to maritime through elective modules, multidisciplinary projects and industry case studies, including those from non-maritime disciplines.

33.          Internships provide another important pathway to making these human connections. In 2025, SMF placed 169 students in internships across 81 companies, while 42 students gained international exposure through the MPA Global Internship Award.

34.          Beyond internships, SMF’s MaritimeONE Campus and Company Connect programmes bring maritime companies to campuses and students into workplaces. These efforts will be stepped up to give young people first-hand exposure to the industry.

Conclusion

35.          I thank AET, MSC, Petredec Global and PIL for partnering SMF for this year’s Case Summit, especially the industry mentors who guided our students. I also thank our Institutes of Higher Learning for their support.

36.          To the teams, whether you win an award tonight, I hope you leave this competition with a better appreciation of the opportunities in Maritime Singapore, hopefully made a few more new friends, and make the time to meet them this week.

37.          Singapore may be a small nation, but we play an outsized role in global maritime. This is the inspiration behind MPA’s new maritime careers campaign, “Be Among Giants”, which invites young Singaporeans like yourselves, whatever your interests or backgrounds, to discover the opportunities to work alongside giants of the global maritime industry.

38.          I am pleased to officially launch the campaign video today. I hope it inspires you to see the possibilities in human connections, and the adventures that await you in Maritime Singapore. Let me invite you to watch “Be Among Giants”. Thank you.