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2014 “Singapore naturally became the group’s centre of excellence for management of oil tankers and gas carriers.” Capt Sandip Mirchandani, managing director, BSM (Singapore) Global hub for maritime business and technology Offshore boom attracts new players Bunkering sets new standardsMTU Asia Pte. Ltd. | Phone: +65 68615922 Singapore Solutions 2014 | 1www.singaporesolutions.sg contents 2014 66 Singapore’s container terminals are an integral part of the city’s maritime hub international maritime hub 5 Comment 6 Singapore is economically stable and offers a business-friendly environment 8 Tax rates offer incentives for companies 10 The city state is a leading global maritime hub 15 The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore attracts maritime businesses; setting up a business in Singapore; Government agencies offer assistance 18 The Singapore Registry is adding ships to the national flag fleet 19 Registering a ship in Singapore shipowners and managers 20 APL invests in vessel efficiency 21 PIL advances its fleet modernisation programme 22 Regional operators look for cost savings; Rickmers trusts in containers 24 Tanker companies head to Singapore to run their fleets 25 AET manages most of its ships from Singapore 26 A diverse variety of shipowners are based in the city 28 Shipmanagers such as Thome find a natural home 29 Wallem creates a hub of expertise 30 Union Marine goes for quality; Bernhard Schulte’s centre of excellence for tankers offshore support vessel operators 33 Ezra Holdings is developing the subsea part of its business 36 Harkand is using Singapore as a base for expanding its operations 38 Software specialist Herbert-ABS is supporting OSV owners 39 Calecore has set up a regional office in Singapore shipbuilding and repair services 40 Shipbuilders are benefiting from the offshore industry boom 42 Keppel gains new business; Sembcorp Marine achieves two milestones 44 Strategic Marine specialises in aluminium construction 45 PaxOcean delivers AHTS; ST Engineering wins ferry contract technology companies 47 Singapore is a base for a growing number of maritime technology companies 48 A global technology centre; IHC Merwede expands into offshore; GAC offers weather solutions 20 APL is investing heavily in upgrading the efficiency of its vessels 33 Offshore support vessel owners are thriving in Singapore and southeast Asia 30 Singapore has been a major hub for Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement since 1998Published March 2014 Editor: Steve Matthews t: +44 20 8370 1723 e: steve.matthews@rivieramm.com Head of Sales - Asia: Kym Tan t: +65 6809 3098 e: kym.tan@rivieramm.com Sales Manager - Asia: Rigzin Angdu t: +65 6809 3198 e: rigzin.angdu@rivieramm.com Production Manager: Ramesh Mahbubani t: +44 20 8370 7010 e: ramesh.mahbubani@rivieramm.com Circulation Manager: Joanne Collett t: +44 20 8370 7795 e: joanne.collett@rivieramm.com Chairman: John Labdon Managing Director: Steve Labdon Editorial Director: Steve Matthews Sales & Development Director: Steve Parks Acting Head of Production: Marco Di Paola Finance Director: Cathy Labdon Executive Editor: Paul Gunton Group Sales Manager: Bill Cochrane Published by: Riviera Maritime Media Ltd Mitre House 66 Abbey Road Enfield EN1 2QN UK Singapore office: Riviera Maritime Media Singapore Pte Ltd Level 26, PSA Building 460 Alexandra Road Singapore 119963 www.rivieramm.com ©2014 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd subscriptions A subscription costs £49 and comprises the Singapore Solutions journal, published annually, plus complimentary bonus material: • digital edition of Singapore Solutions • access to www.singaporesolutions.sg and its searchable online archive. Subscribe online: www.rivieramm.com/subscribe contents Front cover: Singapore’s container terminals are continuing to expand and are an integral part of the city state’s role as a global maritime hub 2014 “Singapore naturally became the group’s centre of excellence for management of oil tankers and gas carriers.” Capt Sandip Mirchandani, managing director, BSM (Singapore) Global hub for maritime business and technology Offshore boom attracts new players Bunkering sets new standards Disclaimer: Although every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication is correct, the Author and Publisher accept no liability to any party for any inaccuracies that may occur. Any third party material included with the publication is supplied in good faith and the Publisher accepts no liability in respect of content. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, reprinted or stored in any electronic medium or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner. 49 Nordic Maritime goes seismic 50 LOC gives marine warranties; NSSLGlobal serves customers worldwide 51 Vanguard lifeboat hook release; Softship provides software solutions 52 Jason Marine spreads its wings; Viking Offshore & Marine supplies wide product range; Jebsen & Jessen supports offshore vessel operators 53 Rolls-Royce develops marine training centre; BW invests in green technology; Navis builds on success; 54 ABB service centre; solar powered boat measures water quality bunkering and lubes 56 Singapore promotes high bunkering standards 58 Flow meters offer greater transparency and confidence 59 DNVPS at the forefront of fuel oil testing; Shell taking the lead in lubrication 61 Unimarine focusing on meeting customers’ lube oil needs 62 Setting the standards for LNG bunkering communications 64 SingTel staying ahead of the game through technical innovation port and terminals 66 PSA International’s builds new Pasir Panjang terminals 68 Jurong Port offers multipurpose facilities 69 PSA expands its global port empire class societies 72 Class goes for offshore technology solutions finance 74 Banks support Asian shipowners’ investment plans 75 Standard Chartered embraces shipping; No fortunes for shipping trusts shipbrokers 77 Singapore creates a centre for international shipbrokers; M3 Marine Group focuses offshore 78 Liquid bulk niche specialists SPI Marine; Vantage Shibrokers and Strait Shipbrokers legal services 80 Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration facilitates growing business8 9 www.bs-shipmanagement.comwww.singaporesolutions.sg Singapore Solutions 2014 | 5 Steve Matthews comment W elcome to this first edition of Riviera Maritime Media’s new publication Singapore Solutions. The journal showcases the diverse range of maritime businesses and services that are based in Singapore and serve the global marine industry. It includes the many international companies that have operations based there, as well as Singaporean companies and organisations serving the international industry. Singapore is not just an Asian regional hub but one of the world’s leading maritime hubs. In fact, a recent study ranked Singapore as the leading maritime hub overall, ahead of Oslo, London, Hamburg and Hong Kong. It is not only a key marine transport hub, with a major global port providing links to all parts of Asia and the rest of the world, and the world’s leading bunkering port. It is also a primary shipping business, finance and legal centre, hosting many shipping companies that benefit from its business-friendly environment. It has become a leading location for shipping business and finance services in Asia with increasing activity in the offshore sector. The maritime industries are a vital part of Singapore’s economic success. Singapore is also increasingly important in the growing offshore oil and gas industry in Asia. It hosts leading shipbuilding and repair facilities, which construct some of the most advanced and sophisticated vessels for the offshore industry and provide repair services to all types of commercial ships. In particular Singapore Solutions is highlighting those companies that are headquartered in Singapore, or are part of international groups but have a strong presence there, and are providing value-added production, research or services to the maritime industry on a global or regional basis. A glance through the pages shows the diversity of activities that are based in Singapore. Singapore Solutions outlines some of the incentives that the Government has put in place to attract maritime companies to its shores and ships to its flag. As well as shipowners and operators in both conventional shipping and the offshore sector, Singapore Solutions casts its eye over some of the shipbuilding and technology companies and their research and innovation. The local and international activities of PSA in port management are outlined. Singapore remains the world’s leading bunkering port and has big plans for LNG bunkering, which are explained in this issue. On the commercial front it highlights the finance and legal sectors that are enhancing Singapore’s international standing. Just a sample of the comments from companies that spoke to Singapore Solutions in the course of researching this journal are testimony to the strong influence that Singapore is exerting in the global maritime industry: “The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has dialogue with industry and regular meetings to review trends. Singapore is a good place to run a company as the administrative burden and cost is limited and there is not much bureaucracy, and it tries to support business. The government tries to do the right things and support innovation.” “Singapore is a truly international maritime centre and an excellent place from which to operate a global shipping company. The authorities are actively attempting to attract owners, operators and service companies to the cluster which will reinforce Singapore’s position and increase healthy competition.” “You get it all here. You get the support of an extremely well-structured and stable political and economic environment. You get a hub state that provides for all relevant sectors in our industry.” “Singapore is a perfect focal point for the entire Asia region. Singapore is the number one hub for maritime activity in the region. It is likely not only to remain so but, if anything, to enhance that standing.” B ut there are also some notes of caution. Costs are rising and securing talent is becoming more challenging. Singapore is facing tougher competition from China for building offshore vessels. One company said that Singapore will need to specialise in the high end of the market and complex projects. Singapore cannot afford to be complacent about its favourable standing among maritime companies. The Government is aware of that and is committed to maintaining the city state as a maritime centre of excellence by investing in innovation and training and supporting businesses that want to establish themselves in Singapore or want to expand or diversify. It is therefore looking positively to the future. That can-do approach is what so many maritime businesses find attractive. Riviera Maritime Media will be at the Asia Pacific Maritime event in March and we look forward to seeing you in Singapore. SS Providing solutions for the global maritime industrywww.singaporesolutions.sg 6 | Singapore Solutions 2014 economy and business Singapore navigates choppy economic waters I n August 2015 Singapore will celebrate 50 years as a fully independent country. Since 1965 it has emerged from being little more than a colonial trading post to become a major economic power in its own right and one of the leading economies in Asia, and one of the world’s leading ports and maritime hubs. Its GDP per capita is higher than the US. Singapore is basically a city state and has a population of just over five million, which makes its economic achievements even more impressive. Its main natural resource is simply its strategic geographical position which has been coupled with its determined policy of attracting international businesses and their senior executives to its shores. But it is a mistake to assume that Singapore is just a regional finance and business centre. More than one-fifth of its economy is accounted for by manufacturing and it has become a major centre for technology research and development and education, and that includes the maritime and offshore industries. It has successfully upgraded its manufacturing output to focus increasingly on high-tech sophisticated products, such as electronics and chemicals, and also the high-end offshore vessels built in its shipyards. It has created a business-friendly environment through light touch regulation, various financial incentives, low taxes – though property taxes are high – and offering a lifestyle that many expat business people as well as locals find attractive, while a generally good though narrowly focused education and training system offers an important local human resource. Of course it is not all plain sailing. The absence of a genuinely democratic system of government generates some reservations, Singapore’s economic stability and business-friendly policies continue to attract maritime companies across all shipping and commercial sectors Singapore is a major global hub for maritime businesseswww.singaporesolutions.sg Singapore Solutions 2014 | 7 though there are signs of a stronger political opposition to the governing People’s Action Party that has been in power since before independence and a more open approach. It is proving increasingly difficult to attract the skills that Singapore needs to maintain its growth. This is not helped by some of the most expensive costs of living in Asia and beyond, though increased building of social housing is expected to dampen the rise in prices. The tightening of labour rules is causing some concerns among maritime employers such as shipbuilders and repairers, shipowners and shipmanagers. The costs of office rental, and the cost of accommodation for staff, have risen sharply, not helped by the appreciation of the Singapore dollar. But in the maritime sector, at least, new companies continue to emerge and others expand, assisted by government incentives for maritime businesses and its status as a major global maritime hub. About 40 per cent of the people in Singapore are from overseas. Some social pressures have been manifested, especially among lower skilled and paid workers, with disturbances, for example, in December in the Little India neighbourhood. Rules on foreign workers have been tightened in response to these pressures, but that will also limit economic growth. The often bland and conformist social scene and environment is not to everyone’s taste. The economic success of Singapore’s formula has been proven. The main challenge is how sustainable it will be in future in the face of the growing internal economic and social tensions and increasing competition from other Asian economies. In 2013 Singapore’s economy saw something of a rebound from the slow growth in 2012 of just 1.3 per cent. It was still, however, some way behind that of earlier years, with growth of 4.9 per cent in 2011, and the path during 2013 was not a smooth one. In the first quarter year-on-year growth remained slow at just 0.2 per cent but jumped to 3.8 per cent in the second quarter. The third quarter saw a contraction of 2.7 per cent but there was an estimated strong rebound in the fourth quarter to 4.4 per cent year-on- year growth. This trend was consistent across all the main business sectors and reflected in port statistics. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank, has acknowledged that restrictions on foreign workers are constraining economic growth and could lead to higher wage inflation as companies compete to attract the workers they need. It has forecast modest growth again in 2014, with a similar level of growth of about 2.5–3.5 per cent as in 2013. This followed a third quarter which saw a year-on-year growth of 5.1 per cent, but a slight contraction of 1 per cent from the previous quarter. But this followed a second quarter that saw a massive 16.9 per cent growth. Upward pressure on wages is likely to see inflation edge up from 1.5–2 per cent in 2013 to 2–3 per cent in 2014. The MAS said it will maintain its policy of a gradual appreciation in the value of the Singapore dollar to manage inflation. The central bank commented that Singapore will benefit from the recovery in most developed countries. That is balanced against the sluggish growth in many emerging economies in Asia, but it stressed that Singapore’s exports are more closely linked with developed economies than its immediate Asian neighbouring countries. Sustaining economic growth depends on securing new opportunities based on high quality production and economic activities, while striving to maintain social cohesion. In a speech in early January at the opening of a major expansion of the ExxonMobil chemical plant at Jurong Island, Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singapore will continue to support the growth of its energy and chemicals sectors as it seeks to keep its status as the region’s leading player. “Energy and chemicals contribute a third of our manufacturing output, with many spillover effects.” The prime minister said that the Singapore Government will upgrade facilities and infrastructure on Jurong Island, and work to improve workforce skills while adopting strategies to address climate change. The additional ExxonMobil plant uses innovative processes to convert crude oil directly to petrochemical products, without the need for intermediate refining, and it represents the single biggest manufacturing investment so far in Singapore. The plant is intended to meet the rising demand for petrochemicals in Asia and will generate additional shipping traffic. Singapore is a massive hub for the energy and chemicals industry, which is the biggest manufacturing sector in Singapore, with several major refineries operated by global oil majors producing a wide range of oil and petrochemical products. In addition to ExxonMobil, Shell, BASF and Mitsui also have major chemical plants in Singapore. German company Lanxess opened a new chemicals plant there in 2013. Singapore has recently turned its attention to the growing LNG market. It began importing LNG cargoes in April 2013. Singapore is keen to develop as a regional LNG trade and transport hub as demand for LNG in Asia increases, and long-standing regional LNG exporters Malaysia and Indonesia face higher domestic demand. In addition, Singapore is aiming to start LNG bunkering operations by the end of 2014 or early 2015 (see page 62). A new company, Pavilion Energy has Among the reasons for Singapore’s success as a leading location for trade is the adoption of processes that facilitate the speedy and cost-effective trading of goods by private companies. Singapore is among those countries that have adopted the so-called Single Trade Window system. It is aimed at improving information flows by adopting standard information and documents processed through a single gateway to eliminate redundant processes and improve co-ordination between companies and authorities. Singapore started its TradeNet system, then a simple electronic data exchange system, back in 1989. It was set up and operated by a private non-profit organisation now called CrimsonLogic. Subsequent advances in IT capability have meant continued improvements in TradeNet’s performance. Smaller companies have been encouraged to participate by assistance with computer systems and staff training. Currently TradeNet handles more than 30,000 cargo declarations a day and 99 per cent of them are processed in just 10 minutes, with collectibles made through interbank deductions. The system is also being extended to cover commercial transactions, such as cargo insurance and invoices. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the regional inter-government organisation of which Singapore is a leading member, has said that it aims to establish an Asean-wide single trade window system by 2015, which will integrate the current national systems. Single trade windowNext >