Royston Sim Straits Times 26 Jul 11;
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew (left) and Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo being briefed by Captain M. Segar, group director (Hub Port), at the newest Port Operations Control Centre at Changi Naval Base yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN
SHIPS can now navigate in Singapore waters more easily after a new control centre was set up at Changi Naval Base.
Staff there will relay information to vessels to help them pass safely through the island's busy shipping lanes.
And to make their job easier, the operators have been given a state-of-the-art navigation system.
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew officially opened the Port Operations Control Centre yesterday. It began operating in April this year.
Its new Vessel Traffic Information System can track up to 10,000 ships at a time - twice as many as its predecessor.
The system also has improved features such as the ability to automatically predict the route of vessels with keels deeper than 15m and warn them if they are approaching shallow water.
Operators monitoring the sea lanes now have 56-inch screens that allow them to survey the entire Strait of Singapore instead of toggling among several windows.
Closed-circuit television cameras are integrated into the system so operators can simply click on a vessel, and a camera will zoom in on it automatically.
Captain Kevin Wong, assistant director of the Maritime and Port Authority's vessel traffic management department, said the improved functions will leave staff free to devote more attention to monitoring traffic.
Mr Lui noted that Singapore has the world's busiest port in terms of the total tonnage of ships arriving. Last year, there were more than 127,000 vessels totalling 1.92 billion gross tons.
Singapore has about 1,000 vessels docked at its terminals at any one time, and a ship leaves or arrives every three to four minutes.
As a premier hub port along important trade routes, Singapore places strong emphasis on safety of navigation to sustain the flow of maritime trade, said Mr Lui.
'We need to continue to invest in additional capacity to enhance the safety of
navigation as demands on our port and
shipping lanes grow,' he said.
The control centre is Singapore's third. The Maritime and Port of Authority will upgrade its second control centre at PSA Vista in Pasir Panjang to include a similar system next month. The entire project - including the new centre - will cost $25.4 million.
The third centre, at Tanjong Pagar Complex, will be decommissioned once the upgrade is complete.
New operations centre for a very busy port
Today Online 26 Jul 11;
SINGAPORE - Almost three years in the making, the new Port Operations Operation Centre (POCC) at Changi was officially opened by Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew yesterday.
Equipped with a state-of-the-art Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS), POCC-Changi will play a crucial role in ensuring navigational safety and protection of the marine environment in Singapore's port waters and the Singapore Strait.
More than 127,000 vessels, totalling 1.92 billion gross tonnes, called at the Republic's port last year, making Singapore one of the busiest ports in the world.
The new VTIS at POCC-Changi can handle up to 10,000 vessel tracks at any one time, twice the capacity of the existing VTIS.
The new POCC-Changi will eventually replace the existing POCC at Tanjong Pagar Complex (POCC-TPC).
Costing a total of S$25.4 million, POCC-Changi and the upgrading of POCC at PSA Vista are part of the MPA's investments to ensure the continued safe and efficient operation of the Port of Singapore.
While leading-edge technology may form the nucleus of the POCCs, Mr Lui feels Vessel Traffic Management operators play an instrumental role in the development of POCC-Changi. He added: "Their knowledge and experience were invaluable in the design of the new VTIS and the layout of the Centre. This user-based approach not only shortened the system training for our operators, but also created a conducive working environment for them to perform at their best."
