Recent spate of sea collisions shock MPA out from it's slumber to issue "strongly worded" circular to shippers

Seatrade Global, 14 Feb 2014
Following the recent spate of collisions and oil spills the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has issued a strongly worded circular to the shipping community saying safe navigation is of “utmost importance”.
The circular stated: “All types of ship including very large crude carriers, very large ore carriers, mega container ships and unwieldy tows navigate through the busy Singapore Strait and call at the Port of Singapore. Hence, the safety of navigation in the Singapore Strait and Singapore waters are of utmost importance.” Full story

Related:
Singapore vows to crack down on navigational errors - Sea Ship News

MPA's newly-appointed CEO Andrew Tan Kok Kiong says he is "gravely concerned" about the spate of ship collisions in Singapore's congested waters

Seatrade Global, 12 Feb 2014
“MPA (Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore) is gravely concerned about the recent incidents in Singapore’s waters,” said Andrew Tan, chief executive of the MPA.
“We are working with the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) to take immediate steps to raise the level of awareness of navigational safety in the shipping community, Tans said.
“MPA is committed to ensuring the safety of navigation in our waters and will work closely with our partners in the shipping community to reinforce this. MPA is also enhancing its navigational alerts to provide ship masters and pilots to help improve their situational awareness, pending the outcome of the investigations into these incidents.” Full story

Related:
Andrew Tan Kok Kiong to head MPA from 1 January 2014 - XIN MSN Entertainment

Third ship collision in less than two weeks at congested Singapore port spilling 80 mt of bunker fuel

Platts.com, 11 Feb 2014
A ship collision in Singapore late Monday has spilled some 80 mt of bunker fuel in the port, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in a statement.
The MPA said that it had received a report of the collision of the departing Liberia-flagged container ship Hammonia Thracium and the Panama-flagged chemical tanker Zoey in the Singapore Strait, off Sebarok Island, about 10 km south of the city state on Monday afternoon.
This is the third collision at the port in less than two weeks. Chemical tanker Lime Galaxy collided with container ship Feihe on January 29, while container ship NYK Themis collided with barge AZ Fuzhou on January 30.  Full story

Related:
Singapore: 3rd Bunker Spill in 13 Days After Another Vessel Collision - Shipandbunker.com

Second vessel collision off congested Singapore waters causing serious oil spillage

SeaShip News, 30 Jan 2014
Singapore: The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has reported that this morning at 0414hrs is received a report that a Panama-flagged containership, "NYK Themis", had collided into a barge "AZ Fuzhou”.
The incident happened about 4 km south of Marina South in the East Keppel Fairway, as the barge was being towed by tug "AZ Carnation”. The MPA said that its Port Operations Control Centre had informed NYK Themis of the presence of AZ Fuzhou in the fairway.
A bunker tank on NYK Themis sustained damage resulting in some spillage of bunker fuel. MPA has dispatched four craft to deal with the spill and has engaged oil spill response companies support the clean up efforts.
The incident happened less than 12 hours after a chemical tanker smashed into a boxship 2.7 km, south of Jurong Island. Link

Related:
Chemical tanker smashes into boxship off Singapore - SeaShip News

Chemical tanker and boxship collide in Singapore

Seatrade Global, 30 Jan 2014
A chemical tanker and a containership collided in Singapore waters on Wednesday, resulting in some spillage of bunker fuel, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
The Hong Kong-flagged chemical tanker Lime Galaxy collided with the China-flagged containership Feihe at about 2.7km south of Jurong Island at 1830 hours local time yesterday. Full story

Two ships collided at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal spilling 100 metric ton of fuel

Platts.com, 2 Jul 2013
Two vessels collided at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal in Singapore early Tuesday, resulting in a 100 mt bunker fuel spill, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in a statement.
At about 5:30 am Singapore time Tuesday (2130 GMT Monday), a South Korean-registered bulk carrier, Oriental Pioneer, and a Bahamas-registered bulk carrier, Atlantic Hero, collided about 6.6 kilometers southwest of the terminal, MPA said. Full story

Related:
Singapore Starts Cleaning Up Oil Spill After Two Ships Collide - Bloomberg

Big Rise in Number of Singapore Ship Arrests

Ship & Bunker, 6 Feb 2013
In 2012 Singapore saw a big rise in the number of ships arrested, official data from the Supreme Court of Singapore provided to Ship & Bunker has shown.
The number of ships arrested by the city state rose 36 percent year on year, to 114 in 2012 compared to 84 in 2011.
The number of warrants filed for arrests was up 40 percent from the 95 in 2011 to 133 last year.   Full story

Singapore seizes Italian firm's ships due to unpaid debt

Reuters, 23 Aug 2012
Aug 24 (Reuters) - Singapore has arrested two vessels owned by Italian shipping firm Rizzo Bottiglieri De Carlini Armatori due to an outstanding debt of nearly $5 million, a lawyer handling the case said on Friday.
Singapore's Supreme Court approved the arrest this month of the 109,000-deadweight tonne crude oil tanker, Adele Marina Rizzo, and 178,000-tonne dry bulk carrier, Cavaliere Grazia Bottiglieri, according to the court's website. Full story

Related:
Singapore seizes Italian firm's ships due to unpaid debt - The Standard

Singapore Shipping Association denies claims of "frothed" bunker fuel

Platts.com, 4 Jun 2012
The Singapore Shipping Association on Monday said that claims of "cappuccino" or frothed bunkers being supplied in Singapore are "overly exaggerated and unsubstantiated by hard evidence at the time of loading," according to an official statement.
The "cappuccino" effect is allegedly due to the presence of entrained air, which may cause the bunker fuel to froth, causing manual measurements to be unreliable, the SSA said. Full story

PSA to sell its 60 percent stake in Gwandar Port to China after failing to fulfil commitments - report

Thenews.co.pk, 20 May 20121
KARACHI: The Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), Aqeel Kareem Dedhi (AKD) Group and the National Logistic Cell (NCL) have decided to sell their shareholding in the Gwadar Port to China, sources said.
PSA holds 60 percent shares in the Gwadar port while AKD Group and NLC hold 20 percent shares each.
The running of the port affairs was given to Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), one of the biggest port operators in the world 40 years so that it will fetch considerable business for making Gwadar port a success.
However, PSA and the government both failed to fulfil their commitments. Full story

Singapore remains world's busiest port

Sin Chew Jit Poh, 20 Mar 2012
SINGAPORE, March 20 (Bernama) -- Singapore retains its position as the world's busiest port in 2011 despite the past few years being challenging ones for shipping, says its Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law, K. Shanmugam.
"Vessel arrival tonnage was a record 2.12 billion gross tonnes in 2011 (up 10.5 percent from 2010). Total bunker sales in 2011 rose by 5.6 per cent to 43.15 million tonnes, while container throughput for 2011 grew by 5.3 per cent to 29.94 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units)," he said in his address at the 2nd Annual Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) Conference here today. Full story

Related:
SINGAPORE RETAINS POSITION AS WORLDS'S BUSIEST PORT IN 2011 - Yahoo! News Malaysia

Two massive oil tankers missed collision by inches in crowded Singapore waters

Jalopnik.com, 14 Nov 2011

Sphincters in the Port of Singapore have yet to un-clinch following the near-collision pictured above. You just know the driver in the bright red tanker doesn't even have insurance.
The photo was taken this morning by a photographer on a nearby drillship, the Mykonos. You can see the entire frightening sequence over at gCaptain. Just imagine it in slow motion. Link

Related:
Tankers Nearly Swap Paint in Singapore [IMAGES]- gCaptain.com

Singapore to share expertise in seaport management with Brazil

ZDNet Asia, 11 Oct 2011
SINGAPORE--The local government and Brazil have inked an agreement under which the city-state will share its expertise in seaport management, and help develop ICT systems and policies to boost cargo and other related activities in the South American country.
The Technical Assistance Agreement was signed Tuesday between Singapore's IDA International and Secretaria de Portos (SEP), the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) announced in a statement. IDA International seeks to export the Asian country's e-government expertise to administrations globally. Full story

PSA and ABG Ports to get JNPT terminal project

IFW-net.com, 30 Aug 2011
The Indian Union Ministry of Shipping and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) will award the fourth container terminal at JNPT to the highest bidding consortium of Port of Singapore and ABG Ports in the next two weeks, it has been revealed.
The terminal, originally slated to be awarded in 2010-11, was held up after a number of JNPT board trustees raised performance-related concerns over ABG, one of the consortium partners. Full story

Singapore: Construction of Jetties at Banyan Basin Begins

Dredging Today, 13 Jul 2011
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore announces start of Construction of Jetties at Banyan Basin.
Construction works will be carried out within the working area by crane barges held by 4-point anchor moorings. There will be a circular safety working zone of 100-metre radius centred at the barges.
Each anchor will be marked with a yellow buoy exhibiting a flashing yellow light. A safety boat will be deployed to warn other craft of the project work area. Link

Singapore's PSA to manage Cuba container terminal

Reuters, 8 Jul 2011
(Reuters) - Singapore port operator PSA International said on Friday it will manage a container terminal in Cuba that is currently under construction, confirming an earlier Reuters report.
The terminal is part of a larger scheme to develop Mariel Bay, 28 miles (45 km) west of Havana, into the Caribbean country's most important cargo hub and center of light manufacture. Full story

Related:
Singapore's PSA signs deal to manage Cuban port - AFP
Singapore's PSA signs deal to manage Cuban port - MSN Philippines News

Historic lighthouse guards modern Singapore

AFP
Standing off the southern tip of Singapore is a white granite lighthouse built more than 150 years ago to guide ships entering a sleepy tropical outpost of the British empire.
Singapore has since grown into one of the world's busiest ports but the Raffles Lighthouse remains a vital maritime landmark in an age when massive ocean-going ships depend heavily upon sophisticated navigation systems.
"Electronics can fail but the lighthouse will always be there," said chief hydrographer Parry Oei from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). Full story

Related:
Historic lighthouse guards modern Singapore - Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Historic lighthouse guards modern Singapore - Bangkok Post

Singapore to launch new port operations control at Changi

Sin Chew Jit Poh, 12 Apr 2011
SINGAPORE, April 11 (Bernama) -- The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, or MPA, will soon launch a new Port Operations Control Centre at Changi that will be equipped with a new Vessel Traffic Information System to enhance vessel traffic management in and around Singapore's waters. Full story

Singapore Asphalt Tanker Sinks Off Pulau Bintan

Bernama.com, 27 Jan 2011
SINGAPORE, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- A Singapore-registered asphalt tanker was reported to have sunk off the east coast of Pulau Bintan, Indonesia Thursday afternoon.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said Thursday it was informed that the ship "AB9" was listing about 3.10pm, and subsequently sank about 5pm. Full story

Related:
Singapore asphalt tanker sinks off Indonesian island, all crew rescued - Xinhua

Shanghai container traffic overtakes Singapore to clinch top spot

Monsters and Critics, 7 Jan 2011
Singapore - Container traffic through the port of Singapore climbed nearly 10 per cent year-on-year to reach more than 28.4 million standard-sized 20-foot units in 2010, the city-state's port authority said, as the economic recovery spurred global trade.
But news reports from China suggested that in 2010 for the first time Shanghai's total container throughput overtook Singapore's to make it the world's busiest container port. Full story

Related:
Shanghai Surpasses Singapore as World's Busiest Port as Trade Volumes Jump - Bloomberg
Shanghai says becomes world's busiest container port - Reuters
Shanghai overtakes Singapore as world's biggest container port in 2010 - Portworld