Singapore MarItime - New Nautical Frontier

Navigating the waves of one of Singapore’s key industries.

- Joy Ling

It's no secret that Singapore’s strategic positioning along the Strait of Malacca played a vital role in connecting our tiny nation to countries beyond the border, accelerating the growth of the economy after independence. It’s textbook knowledge.

Yet in 2014, the collapse in oil prices shook the industry, leading to the loss of jobs and debt restructuring. Now, the tremors of China’s Belt and Road Initiative are increasingly felt. With a new Silk Road on the way, converging a population of 600 million in Southeast Asia via land, will the emporium on sea continue to flourish? Can our country maintain its ranking as the world’s top maritime centre for decades to come?

We forget that Singapore’s maritime industry carries a mantle surpassing trade itself. At a fundamental level, Singapore is the world’s top bunkering port and a leading maritime centre for the provision of maritime services, such as the building and repair of vessels, ship management and ship brokerage. As an International Maritime Centre, we are the chosen core for multinational maritime companies to convene their regional headquarters in.

Besides well-established companies, start-ups also find it attractive to enter the maritime industry. In particular, there is an increasing number of tech start-ups that are contributing to the industry as they see untapped potential following its shift towards digitalisation.

“Many people have the impression that the maritime industry is not open to technological innovations,” Christopher Lim, CEO of Glee Trees Pte. Ltd. says. Gleematic, the company’s robotic software, automatically completes immigration clearance for crew, updates vessels’ details into government web portals and declares goods among other human-fallible tasks.