Jermyn Chow Straits Times 12 Apr 13;
REDUCED fees and other incentives aimed at boosting port competitiveness and making better use of anchorage space were announced last night.
The key change, which starts in July, will see port dues lowered for up to 83 per cent of the container ships that pull in here.
A 20 per cent concession on port dues, which is due to expire at the end of June next year, will also be made permanent.
The moves unveiled by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will mean shippers which dock in Singapore can expect to save about $22 million a year.
The revised dues are likely to benefit ships that can turn around fast. Long-staying vessels - up to 7 per cent of those calling here - may have to pay higher fees.
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, who announced the changes, said they are aimed at ensuring that Singapore's port becomes more attractive in terms of financing and costs.
Mr Lui told the annual Singapore International Maritime Awards - part of the Singapore Maritime Week - last night: "I know in difficult times and challenging times that you all face in the maritime sector, this is something that we in Singapore and the MPA can help you along."
He also announced more incentives and discounts for ships to become more ecologically sustainable. These discounts fall under a $100 million Maritime Singapore Green Initiative launched in 2011.
Rebates for ships that burn cleaner fuels at Singapore's port will go up from 15 per cent to 25 per cent.
Another incentive will mean Singapore-flagged ships that adopt designs that reduce fuel consumption and sulphur oxide emissions will pay only one-quarter of their initial registration fees. Previously, these fees were halved.
Local maritime companies that develop and adopt green technologies that can achieve more than 10 per cent reduction in emission levels can also get more funds.
The moves to boost the maritime sector follow initiatives announced by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Tuesday to raise the beleaguered industry's productivity.
Although shippers are grappling with tight margins due to high fuel and manpower costs, container volumes are expected to grow in Asia.
The maritime sector accounts for about 7 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product.
Team bags $1.2m prize with radical design
A TEAM of engineering researchers and a crane manufacturer have won a US$1 million (S$1.24 million) prize for its radical design for a double-storey container port terminal with driverless trucks.
The team, comprising the National University of Singapore (NUS), Shanghai Maritime University and Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company, beat six other finalists to win the first Next Generation Container Port Challenge last night.
The competition, launched last year by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, is aimed at unearthing the ideal port design - a design that could well materialise when Singapore develops the new Tuas Port.
Dubbed Singa (Sustainable Integrated Next Generation Advanced) port, the idea was to save space and use less manpower, said one team member, NUS Associate Professor Lee Loo Hay.
Few, if any, ports in the world have multi-storey or double-storey port terminals.
