Singapore To Launch New Port Operations Control At Changi

Bernama 11 Apr 11;

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.

Announcing this, the Minister in Prime Minister's Office, and second Minister for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua, said as a premier hub at the very heart of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, "we have placed a strong emphasis on navigational safety to prevent accidents that could lead to an oil or chemical spill."

As oil and chemical spills are often transboundary in nature, regional cooperation is vital.

Singapore works closely with the other littoral states to keep the Straits of Malacca and Singapore safe for international shipping," she said at the opening of International Chemical and Oil Pollution Conference and Exhibition 2011, at Resorts World Sentosa Monday.

She said through the Cooperative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection, the three littoral states regularly engage user states and industry players in dialogue and joint projects to enhance navigational safety and prevent pollution.

We have also established standard operating procedures under the Revolving Fund Committee to jointly combat oil spills in the Straits. These procedures proved useful when they were activated during last year's oil spill.

-- BERNAMA