Business

SMW 2022: Singapore Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map launched

A key aim of the updated ITM is to grow the sector’s value-add by $2 billion, or an average rate of 2-3% annually, between 2020 and 2025.

Published

4 years ago

April 5, 2022

Admin

Singapore’s Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025 was launched on Monday (4 April) at the Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) 2022.

First launched in 2018 by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in partnership with industry, unions, and other government agencies, the Sea Transport ITM builds on MPA’s strategic long-term plans to develop Singapore’s Next-Generation Port while strengthening its International Maritime Centre (IMC).

The latest Sea Transport ITM has been refreshed to update strategies to address current challenges and seize new opportunities from the COVID-19 pandemic and shifts in global supply chains.

A key aim of the ITM is to grow the sector’s value-add by $2 billion, or an average rate of 2-3% annually, between 2020 and 2025.

Update on the Progress of the First Sea Transport ITM (launched in 2018)

In the years following the launch of the Sea Transport ITM in 2018, the sector has made significant progress. Pasir Panjang Terminal Phases 3 & 4 were fully operationalised, adding an additional 15 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handling capacity to the Port of Singapore.

To drive digitalisation and enhance productivity, MPA launched Phase 1 of digitalPORT@SG™ to streamline up to 16 regulatory applications into an integrated port clearance service, and the Sea Transport Industry Digitalisation Plan (IDP) for small and medium (SMEs) enterprises to adopt digital technologies.

The launch of the Maritime Transformation Programme has deepened maritime research and development (R&D) capabilities in niche technology areas, e.g. in maritime energy and sustainability, simulation and modelling of future port operations, and development of autonomous ships. To support the maritime workforce, the Professional Conversion Programme (Sea Transport) was launched and trained 160 mid-careerists to join the sector.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the current geopolitical uncertainties, the Sea Transport sector has remained resilient. In 2021, the republic’s IMC attracted 23 companies to expand or set up operations in Singapore, and Singapore’s container throughput achieved a record 37.5 million TEUs, an increase from 36.9 million TEUs in 2020.

Strategies of the Sea Transport ITM 2025

Going forward, the Sea Transport sector is poised to see major transformation given opportunities arising from global supply chain shifts, digitalisation and decarbonisation. The Sea Transport ITM 2025 will focus on the following four strategies, elaborated in the subsequent paragraphs (and with key targets underlined):

Strategy 1: Ensure Relevance and Resilience of MaritimeSG as Key Node in Global Supply Chains
Strategy 2: Build a Vibrant Innovation Ecosystem and Actively Develop New Growth Areas
Strategy 3: Support Maritime SMEs and Start-ups to Grow into Global Champions
Strategy 4: Develop a Future-Ready Maritime Workforce Equipped with Global Skillsets

Maritime Singapore – Global

Photo credit: CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
Published: 5 April, 2022

Legal

Singapore withdraws remaining 127 charges against Hin Leong founder OK Lim

Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

Published

16 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July).

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions.

A total of 130 charges were eventually brought against him for cheating and forgery-related offences.

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

Winding up

Singapore: Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd to be wound up voluntarily

Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Published

17 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

As Ordinary Resolutions

that Mr. Wong Pheng Cheong Martin and Ms. Koay May Yee, both care of FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, One Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583 be appointed as the joint and several Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of such winding up; and
that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
that a Committee of Inspection will not be formed.

Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

In 2019, several vessels owned by both firms entered the sale & purchase (S&P) market in Singapore.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

LNG Bunkering

PIL’s LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Published

17 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

PIL's LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd on Monday (20 July) said its first 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessel, Kota Elok, recently made her maiden call to Singapore on 15 July.

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The vessel also incorporated energy-saving features and digital technologies to reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance, as well as a bow windshield to improve aerodynamics, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions over the course of long-haul voyages.

“Following Singapore, Kota Elok will continue her voyage on our East Coast Service 1 (ES1) route to South America, calling at ports in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina before returning to Asia,” the company said in a social media post.

Kota Elok also became PIL’s first vessel to receive Lloyd’s Register certification for compliance with the IACS UR E26 and UR E27 cyber security requirements.

Developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), UR E26 and UR E27 are mandatory cyber resilience requirements for newbuild vessels contracted from 1 July 2024.

Photo credit: Pacific International Lines
Published: 21 July, 2026