The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) inked
five Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and two Agreements with local and
international partners today at the Singapore Maritime Technology Conference
(SMTC). These MOUs and Agreements are aligned with the Sea
Transport Industry Transformation Map and aim to strengthen Singapore’s
connectivity, deepen maritime R&D capabilities and create a vibrant
innovation culture.
These MOUs are intended to help Singapore take its maritime
sector to a new level of development in areas such as automation, data
analytics, intelligent systems and cybersecurity.
Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of MPA, said, “We are glad to have like-minded
partners who strongly believe in the importance of digitalisation, technology
and innovation.”
“Along with support for maritime start-ups, MPA hopes to
create an enabling environment for both existing and new players to co-exist
side by side as part of a vibrant innovative cluster. That way, Maritime
Singapore will be able to stay ahead of the curve as a world class hub port and
international maritime centre,” he added.
Held at Marina Bay Sands from 25 April to 26 April 2018 in
conjunction with Singapore Maritime Week 2018 (SMW 2018), this year’s
conference theme is “Shaping the Future Maritime Industry through Digital
Innovation”.
Tuas Terminal Phase II Development
Penta Ocean (Japan), Hyundai (South Korea) and Boskalis (The
Netherlands) signed an agreement for the Tuas Terminal Phase II development
worth SGD$1.46 billion (USD $1.1 billion).
The Tuas Terminal will be developed in four phases over the
span of some 30 years, with the Phase 1 reclamation works scheduled to be
completed by the early 2020s and Phase 2 in the mid-2020s.
With Phase I well underway, this second phase of development
will increase the total port capacity by another 21 million TEUs by 2027.
Works under Phase II include the design and construction of 387
hectares of reclaimed land bounded by 9.1km of caisson (a watertight retaining
structure used for the repair of ships) walls. The latest innovations and
technologies, such as E-cranes and reclaimer barges, will be employed to
maximise the use of dredged materials for filling above sea level. When fully
developed by the 2040s, Tuas Terminal will be able to handle up to up to 65
million TEUs annually.
Renewal of MPA-Research Council of Norway MOU
MPA is renewing its MOU in maritime research and
development, education and training (RDET) with the Research Council of Norway
(RCN) for the seventh term for three years till 2021. The MOU was initially signed
in 2000. Since the MOU was first signed in 2000, 19 joint projects have been completed
and four are still ongoing.
The MOU will see MPA and RCN working together in maritime
R&D, education and training in the areas of Maritime Safety, Maritime
Operations, Maritime Information and Communications Technology, Maritime
Environment and Sustainable Energy Technology, and Offshore and Marine
Engineering.
A second Joint Call for Proposals in Norway and Singapore
will be launched by RCN and MPA (through the Singapore Maritime Institute) in
2018. This Joint Call for Proposals will focus on Maritime Digitalisation,
Advanced Technologies, Autonomous Vessels and Systems, and Green Shipping.
Joint activities carried out under the MOU include the
International Maritime and Port Technology Conference (MTEC) and e-navigation Forum
held in April 2017 together with Singapore Maritime Technology Conference.
Kongsberg Norcontrol-ST Electronics-MPA Next Generation Vessel Traffic
Management System (NGVTMS) Innovation Programme
MPA has awarded the Maritime Innovation and Technology
(MINT) Fund to the consortium of ST Electronics, the electronics arm of ST
Engineering, and Kongsberg Norcontrol (Norway) to pursue the Next Generation
Vessel Traffic Management System (NGVTMS) Innovation Programme.
Under the programme, the consortium will co-invest about
SGD$9.9 million (USD $7.5 million) to set up a NGVTMS Lab which will seek to explore
new frontiers for navigation safety and security and improve the efficiency of
maritime operations.
NGVTMS capabilities to be developed include new
decision-support tools such as analysis of vessels routes, traffic hotspots prediction,
and detection of potential collision situations that provide accurate and
comprehensive maritime situational awareness.
ST Electronics and Kongsberg Norcontrol will also jointly
develop and test digital technology and advanced data communications system for
information exchange between ships and port authorities, in support of the
e-Navigation initiatives by the International Maritime Organization to enhance
operational efficiency and safety.
The consortium will adopt an open system architecture to
facilitate wider collaboration and inter-operability with other technology
partners, as well as the flexibility to introduce software/hardware
enhancements on a regular basis.
MPA-Wärtsilä MOU on Maritime R&D and Innovation
MPA will be partnering the Finnish technology group,
Wärtsilä Corporation, to promote the development of maritime technologies in
the areas of digital acceleration, cyber-physical security and intelligent
vessel and port operations.
The inaugural MOU will see both organisations cooperating to
initiate, co-create and promote research, innovation development and
test-bedding projects with the maritime industry, research institutes and
institutes of higher learning (IHLs), and to build up a pool of small and
medium enterprises in Singapore in: 1) Digital Acceleration; 2) Effective
Cyber-Physical Security; 3) Intelligent Vessels Operations and Connectivity
with Smart Port; and 4) Education, awareness
The two parties will participation in the Singapore Smart
Port Acceleration Challenge and build local venturing activities through
co-creation and mentorship with start-ups. They will also work with IHLs and
the maritime community on cyber-physical systems onboard vessels for enhanced
operational resilience, including aggregating cyber incidents reported by ships
to facilitate coordinated incident response and management.
Intelligent vessels capabilities will be developed and field
tested, with local operators and develop pathways to safe and sustainable autonomous
operations, enabled by regulatory sandboxing.
Reliable, secured and cost-effective data exchange between
port and vessel to enable efficient operations as well as digital twin
modelling and simulations to generate value adding applications will be
explored.
The organisations will participate in awareness generation
and education through forums and showcasing across MPA Living Lab and Wärtsilä
Digital Acceleration Centre.
NUS Enterprise-PortXL MOU to develop the Maritime
Innovation Eco-system of Singapore
NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National
University of Singapore (NUS) and a partner of MPA, is collaborating with
PortXL, a maritime-only accelerator with offices in Rotterdam and Singapore, to
increase the diversity of Singapore’s maritime innovation ecosystem.
The collaboration rides on the back of NUS Enterprise and
MPA’s previously announced Maritime Technology Acceleration Program, known as
PIER71 (Port Innovation and Ecosystem Reimagined at BLOCK71). Both parties will
seek to encourage start-ups globally to participate in pilot projects and
provide access to the maritime industry in Singapore and in Rotterdam.
To further support the cause, MPA will be also launching the
Maritime Innovation & Technology (MINT) Fund Call for Proposals and Smart
Port Challenge (SPC) to seek innovation from the research and technology
community in June 2018.
MPA-Keppel O&M-TCOMS MOU to jointly develop autonomous vessels
MPA will be partnering Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) and the
Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine Singapore (TCOMS) to jointly develop
autonomous vessels capable of undertaking harbour operations such as
channelling, berthing, mooring and towing, for safer, more efficient and more
cost effective operations. There are multiple safety, efficiency and cost
benefits to the use of autonomous vessels.
The project will be executed in various phases starting from
remote controlled vessels leading to completely autonomous vessels. Keppel
O&M will use its remote vessel monitoring and analytics programme,
VesselCare, as the base platform in the initial phase to develop autonomous
vessels. VesselCare is able to perform data consolidation, condition based
monitoring and maintenance, mining and analytics of vessels.
During the advanced stages of monitoring & controlling a
vessel, the project will develop a Digital Twin of the tug which will simulate
vessel behaviour to help optimise the vessel operations using data analytics
and visualisation tools. TCOMS will provide expertise in coupled
physical-numerical modelling and simulation to evolve solutions that improve on
the predictability and control of the behaviour and response of the vessel.
Memorandum of Intent with Eight Classification Societies
to support Singapore Maritime Datahub
In addition to the above MOUs, MPA has also inked a
Memorandum of Intent with eight classification societies on the development of
the Singapore Maritime Data Hub (SG-MDH). The eight classification societies
are American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Bureau Veritas (BV), China
Classification Society (CCS), DNV GL, Korean Register of Shipping (KRS),
Lloyd's Register of Shipping (LRS), Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NKK) and Registro
Italiano Navale (RINA). All eight are members of the International Association
of Classification Societies (IACS).
Announced
earlier this year, the SG-MDH is a one-stop data repository with a centralised
application programming interface (API) gateway and data management
capabilities. This will help enable the development and test-bedding of
innovative digital apps and services for the maritime industry.
SG-MDH will also serve as a collaborative platform for
technology companies, startups and maritime stakeholders to co-develop
innovative data-driven maritime solutions, support projects under the MPA Living
Lab and enhance connectivity among key stakeholders in the maritime logistics
ecosystem.