Lion City builds for the next generation of maritime
“Disruptions and change have almost become constant in the global economy”
— Tan Beng Tee, executive director of the Singapore Maritime Foundation
“Singapore’s true enemy is cost”
— Peter Schellenberger, founder of consultancy Novamaxis
“Treat expenses like nails that must be trimmed every day”
— Vinay Gupta, managing director of Union Marine Management Services
“You don’t build an HQ with just buildings—you need brains”
— Ryan Kumar, director at Direct Search Global
“It is time that the boardroom reflected the world it is supposed to govern”
— Irene Rosberg, programme director of the Blue MBA at Copenhagen Business School
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Monjasa has been fuelling global trade across Asia since 2008 and today we are located in Singapore, Shanghai and Ho Chi Minh City and positioned as a global top 10 marine fuels supplier.
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Welcome to our exclusive club
Welcome to our latest unflinching annual take on all things Singapore maritime. Life is too short to simply sugarcoat and heap praise on every page that follows. Our Splash Singapore Market Report has always set out to highlight both strengths and weaknesses of the maritime set-up in the Lion Republic, our corporate HQ.
Singapore has been our home since our parent company was founded 13 years ago. Over the years, we’ve hosted many events there, from shipowner roundtable lunches, rather large drinks parties outside Marina Bay Sands, and our Maritime CEO Forums, the exclusive, by-invite-only gatherings that have welcomed the very cream of the crop in terms of the city’s shipping elite since 2016.
This year marks our final Maritime CEO Forum in Singapore. The brand will continue to be a flagship every October in Europe at the Monaco Yacht Club. What we are launching to replace the forum in the Little Red Dot (as some call this republic) is Splash Singapore - with bold plans to host Asia’s largest shipowning gathering every September at the Fairmont in the heart of town.
We are the first to admit - ad nauseamthat the world, and Singapore in particular, have way, way too many shipping events. So what’s the justification for Splash Singapore? Anyone who has attended our Maritime CEO Forums, or more recently Geneva Dry, ought to be able to attest that when we create a shipping event no expense is spared to ensure the surroundings are conducive to being shipowner-centric.
When was the last shipping event you went to? Think about the ratio between shipowners and mere mortals - I’d wager you’d be lucky if it was one owner for, say, every 100 people. What sets our events apart is that ratio is often close to one to
Come September 24 next year, our behind-closed-doors Maritime CEO Forum is opening up to a wider audience
one - something unheard of in the packed, bloated maritime calendar.
How do we do that? By ensuring the environment is suitably flash, and the topics up for discussion - rather like this magazine, I hope - are topical and interesting with a close ear to what’s going on in the markets. Moreover, we’re timing it into what I like to think is Singapore’s second maritime week (the one I prefer) where other events are taking place culminating in the mega Singapore Shipping Association dinner with 2,000+ guests.
As such, come September 24 next year, our behind-closed-doors Maritime CEO Forum is opening up to a wider audience. Priced at just S$750 ($583), you can now get a chance to rub shoulders with the who’s who of shipping. It’s one for your diary.
Sam Chambers Editor Splash
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Shanghai has scale. Dubai has cash. Singapore has strategy
The Lion City roars on, but knows the hunt never ends
When the latest Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index 2025 crowned Singapore the world’s leading maritime hub yet again, there was little surprise across the industry. Likewise, last year’s DNV–Menon Leading Maritime Cities 2024 report placed the Lion City on top. The accolades pile up like containers on a fully laden boxship, confirming what many already know: Singapore remains the pre-eminent nexus of global shipping.
But behind the trophies, the city-state knows that resting on laurels is the fastest way to lose relevance. In an industry defined by disruption — from geopolitics to decarbonisation, digitalisation to demographic shifts — Singapore is retooling its hub status not as a finished product, but as an ongoing project.
“Over the last five years, the maritime industry has faced many challenges –among them greater volatility in trade flows, disruptions in supply chains, changes in navigation routes, and greater
intensity in decarbonisation and digital efforts,” says Beng Tee Tan, executive director of the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF). “Disruptions and change have almost become constant in the global economy today. Amid these challenges, it was encouraging to note that maritime Singapore has demonstrated resilience as evidenced in our lead.”
Strategic continuity at the top
Singapore has recently seen a change of political guard, with prime minister Lawrence Wong stepping into the role once held by Lee Hsien Loong. For shipping circles, the question is whether Wong “gets” maritime in the same way his predecessors did.
The answer, insiders suggest, is continuity with intensity.
“Singapore’s approach to its maritime sector is characterised by strong strategic continuity under its leadership,”says one
senior industry source. “While there isn’t a significant shift in the fundamental principles, there is an intensification of focus on key areas such as accelerating decarbonisation initiatives, driving advanced digitalisation and automation, securing global talent, and enhancing the sector’s overall resilience.”
That continuity — combining pragmatism with boldness — has long been Singapore’s competitive edge.
The smartest
Ryan Kumar, a director at recruitment firm Direct Search Global, puts it bluntly: “Singapore isn’t the biggest port, or the cheapest. But we’ve always been the smartest. And in a region heating up with geopolitical plays and billion-dollar port developments, staying No. 1 isn’t about size — it’s about strategy.”
Kumar breaks down that strategy into four pillars: infrastructure excellence; regulatory trust; decarbonisation
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increasingly, maritime tech firms,” he says.
Agatiello points to Singapore’s immigration policies — from the ONE Pass to higher thresholds for employment passes — as signs of its intent to attract and retain world-class professionals.
“Talent attracts talent – people want to be where the best opportunities and networks are, creating a virtuous circle. At the same time, Singapore is also investing heavily in the development of local talent and promoting the maritime sector as an attractive career path.”
That dual strategy of importing and developing talent is critical for sustaining Singapore’s edge.
Costs
Not all feedback is glowing. Peter Schellenberger, founder of consultancy Novamaxis, offers a blunt assessment: “Embracing technology and collaboration with other important global ports is the game changer, together with serious government and varsity funding and low
legal barriers. The mix is still globally unmatched. Singapore’s true enemy is cost.”
Indeed, Singapore’s high living costs — from housing to schooling — remain a recurring concern for expatriates and employers alike (see page 24 for further on this issue). The challenge is ensuring that the city remains attractive despite being one of the most expensive places in the world to live.
From the operator side, Raymond Peter, managing director of BSM Singapore, highlights continuity and adaptability.
“There isn’t a significant shift in principles under Wong’s leadership,” he says, “but there is a heightened focus on decarbonisation, digitalisation, and talent development. These are the pillars that will ensure Singapore not only maintains but enhances its global standing.”
Beyond the rankings
What emerges from these voices is a paradox: Singapore is celebrated
The road ahead
Singapore’s maritime playbook rests on four big bets:
1. Tuas port — a once-in-a-generation infrastructure project consolidating all container operations into a fully automated mega-hub.
2. Decarbonisation leadership — anchoring global initiatives like the Global Centre for Maritime
precisely because it refuses to believe its own hype.
The Xinhua-Baltic and DNV–Menon rankings are useful scorecards, but Singapore treats them not as end goals but as proof points in a longer journey. The real work is in future-proofing the hub against shocks and shifts that may not yet be visible.
Singapore’s maritime dominance is not preordained, nor is it unassailable. It rests on relentless adaptation, smart governance, and a refusal to believe the job is ever done.
The voices across shipmanagement, finance, recruitment, and consulting converge on one point: complacency is the only real threat.
Or as Ryan Kumar neatly puts it: “We must keep outthinking, not just outbuilding, our rivals.”
That mindset — pragmatic, restless, and unafraid to reinvent itself — is why Singapore remains the world’s top maritime hub in 2025, and why it is positioning to stay there well into the future.
Decarbonisation (GCMD) and piloting green corridors and remaining the pre-eminent location for multi-fuel bunkering operations.
3. Digital first — leveraging AI, automation, and data analytics to optimise flows and reduce inefficiencies.
4. Talent strategy — balancing global recruitment with local training to build a future-ready workforce.
The port that runs on code
Tuas turns three. Scale, software and the lessons of running the world’s smartest terminals
When PSA Singapore opened the first berths at Tuas in September 2022 it promised a radical rethink of what a container hub could be: a single, consolidated, fully automated port that would trade muscle for software, men for machines, and chaos for event-driven choreography. In 2025 the bill for that ambition is coming due — and so are the headlines. Tuas has already handled more than 10m teu since opening, is being built in four reclamation phases that will ultimately deliver an astonishing 65m teu annual capacity, and is testing the hard limits of automation at commercial scale.
Tuas’s selling point is simple: scale plus systems. By consolidating all of Singapore’s container operations on the reclaimed Tuas shore, PSA aims to replace a decades-old scatter of terminals with a single integrated campus. That consolidation allows operator-level economies — uniform equipment fleets,
centrally managed yard planning, and a port operating system that thinks globally about every box arriving on an ultra-large containership. The Maritime and Port Authority’s ‘Port of the Future’ blueprint underpins this strategy, mapping reclamation, phased handovers and the digital backbone needed to knit it all together.
Automation is the headline. Tuas runs fleets of electric automated guided vehicles (AGVs), automated stacking cranes and ship-to-shore cranes orchestrated by event-driven software that replaces radios, walkie-talkies and the old human choreography of the quayside. The result on paper: faster turnarounds, tighter berth productivity, and lower carbon emissions as diesel-burning yard tractors are swapped for battery electric AGVs and shore-side power systems. PSA and its technology partners have repeatedly described Tuas as a “single largest fully automated terminal” whose
architecture is intentionally built for scale.
But running the world’s most advanced port isn’t only a tech story — it’s an integration story. Tuas has to reconcile legacy shipping practices with software rules that will one day be the port’s language. That friction shows up in small things (new pilotage and berth scheduling flows) and big ones (how terminal control integrates with vessel planners, shipping lines’ slot booking engines and hinterland rail and barge timetables). PSA’s public materials stress the need for “event-driven architecture” — software that reacts to every ping from a ship, truck and crane in real time — and the results are already visible in throughput and utilisation data.
The throughput headline is real. Hitting 10m teu in under three years is both a marketing milestone and a stress test: it proves Tuas can handle meaningful traffic volumes while still ramping systems and training a new generation of
MOMENTUM WHERE IT MATTERS
Building from a one-country operation at the Port of Manila in the Philippines, ICTSI has pressed forward across 37 years. On six continents, currently in 19 countries, we continue developing ports that deliver transformative benefits.
All across our operations, we work closely with our business and government partners, with our clients and host communities: to keep building momentum where it matters, in and through ports that keep driving sustainable growth.
operators to work alongside algorithms. PSA’s milestone was trumpeted in February 2025 and has become the shorthand for a port that is already more than a greenfield experiment. But milestones invite scrutiny: every largescale automation roll-out generates teething problems and media attention when things don’t go to plan.
Those teething problems arrived in the headlines, too. In June 2025, a newly delivered ship-to-shore crane tipped during delivery operations — an incident that underlines the complexity of integrating giant mechanical kit into a live automated ecosystem. The delivery and commissioning of cranes, software updates and AGV fleet rollouts are logistical plate-spins: late deliveries or equipment faults ripple through yard productivity and vessel schedules.
Tuas’s environmental narrative is equally central. The port’s designers pitched automation not only as a productivity tool but as a sustainability lever: electric fleets, reduced idle times, optimised vessel calls and consolidated hinterland links all contribute to lower lifecycle emissions per box. Long-term planning documents and sustainability stories highlight solar, energy-efficiency measures and the potential to plug in shore power for ships — part of a broader Singapore push to make maritime trade less carbon intensive. That green case is both strategic and rhetorical: it helps PSA and the city-state argue that the heavy upfront capital of Tuas buys returns in emissions avoided and logistics
Tuas’s selling point is simple: scale plus systems
resilience.
Economically, Tuas is a bet on Singapore’s role as a pivot between Asia’s manufacturing belts and global consumer markets. The port’s 65m teu horizon (a capacity figure pencilled in for the 2040s when all phases are complete) keeps the Lion City competitive with mega-ports in China and the Gulf by offering the same — and in some cases superior — throughput capabilities in a far smaller footprint. For shipping lines, Tuas promises predictable windows for ultralarge container vessels and a consolidated gateway to Southeast Asia’s hinterland. For Singapore, it’s about land reclamation metamorphosing into economic land use: freeing up older terminals to be redeveloped as what is branded as Greater Southern Waterfront urban projects.
But the human angle hasn’t
disappeared. Automation reduces some jobs and creates others: terminal technicians, systems engineers, data analysts and remote-shift operators. PSA and the MPA have invested in training programmes and innovation challenges to cultivate startups and upskill workers for next-gen port roles.
Finally, Tuas is an exportable model. Ports from Rotterdam to Los Angeles are watching — not merely to steal ideas but to study what happens when you hand so much agency to software. The promise is clear: if Tuas proves resilient, scalable and sustainable, the blueprint for a converged, digital-first mega-port could reshape global maritime infrastructure. The danger is equally clear: a brittle system that fails under unexpected operational stress could turn Tuas into a cautionary tale.
Building a maritime workforce for the age of AI
What steps is Singapore taking to future-proof its maritime talent pipeline as automation and AI reshape many careers?
Singapore has built its reputation as a global maritime hub, but as automation, artificial intelligence, and the green transition reshape shipping, the city-state faces an equally critical challenge on shore: ensuring it has the people to power the industry of tomorrow. From seafarers to superintendents, from coders to chartering executives, the question is no longer simply about filling jobs. It is about future-proofing talent pipelines, reshaping maritime identity, and convincing the next generation that this centuries-old industry still offers a future worth betting on.
Raymond Peter, managing director at BSM Singapore, stresses that Singapore is actively redesigning roles to reskill and upskill current workers, in order to match the industry’s accelerating digitalisation. “This initiative aims to support a more digitalised, high-tech, and sustainable maritime industry,” he says. BSM works closely with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on programmes such as the Management Associates scheme and scholarships via the Singapore Maritime Foundation. These pathways, Peter notes, not only pay for students’ degrees but also give them part-time work and full-time jobs upon graduation.
Lorenzo Agatiello, Asia Pacific director at recruiter Faststream, points to the scale of the investment. “MPA, the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF), and the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) are working closely to develop skills in digitalisation, AI, and decarbonisation. Flagship initiatives such as the MaritimeONE scholarships attract and support young talent entering the industry, while Workforce Singapore has rolled out mid-career pathways to help existing professionals transition into new roles.”
For Columbia Shipmanagement’s Asia CEO, Demetris Chrysostomou, training is the backbone of the transition. “The country has placed a strong emphasis on enhancing training and upskilling for its existing workforce through initiatives like OneLearn Global and by leveraging its tertiary education institutions,” he explains. “Businesses are incentivised to adopt relevant technologies that support long-term growth and resilience, ensuring the industry keeps pace with rapid technological change.”
The AI effect
Automation and AI loom large in every discussion. Union Marine Management
Services managing director Vinay Gupta insists the fundamentals will still matter. “Automation and AI may reshape job descriptions, but skillsets will remain the key — ensuring that information and analysis are placed in the right perspective and translated into decisions that keep businesses running smoothly,” he says. What sets Singapore apart, Gupta argues, is “alignment: government, academia, and industry pulling together in harmony — a rare synergy that few other hubs can claim.”
Wilhelmsen Ship Management’s CEO and president, Haakon Lenz, agrees that Singapore is taking a long-term approach. “Like many nations, Singapore is approaching future readiness from the grassroots level, integrating automation and AI into the school education system,” he says. Structured internships, mentorships, and reskilling programmes on alternative fuels are creating a workforce that is “future-ready and globally competitive.”
Recruiter Ryan Kumar of Direct Search Global sounds a warning: “The real disruption isn’t AI — it’s the gap between the pace of change and how fast we’re preparing people for it. Future-proofing isn’t just about plugging skills gaps — it’s about building an ecosystem that makes
positive doesn’t mean that young people are much interested to work in maritime — it is just not considered ‘sexy’ and linked to odd or many working hours.”
Attracting talent is one thing; keeping it is another. Kumar is blunt: “The hardest part isn’t attracting talent. It’s convincing them to stay. Today’s talent — whether they’re cadets, operators, or chartering executives — are looking for more than salary. They want purpose, flexibility, and visibility. If your company still sees talent as a cost centre, the future will see you as a
This shift in worker expectations is already reshaping HR strategies across Singapore’s maritime employers. “We need more mentorship,” Kumar argues. “We need to bring human stories back into the equation. And we need to treat upskilling If talent is the hardware, maritime identity is the software. For Gupta, Singapore’s identity is “the story of a nation born on the back of trade, strengthened by mastering the sea, and now shaping its destiny by leading in digitalisation and
Southeast Asia, Drago Pinteric, frames it in terms of history and innovation. “Maritime identity in Singapore is deeply intertwined with the nation’s history and its role as a gateway between East and West,” he says. Today, it evolves with sustainability, diversity, and technology,
scholarship programmes that expose young professionals to the sector’s cutting
Others are less convinced the story is landing. “Maritime in Singapore has a very positive connotation and most Singaporeans know that about 15% of GNP are linked to this business,” notes consultant Peter Schellenberger. “However,
Kumar puts it even more starkly: “Singapore is a maritime hub, but not yet a maritime nation. Yes, we top the charts in port performance, vessel traffic, and connectivity. But walk through the heartlands and ask the average young Singaporean what a superintendent does — you’ll likely get blank stares.”
That visibility gap, he argues, needs fixing: “You can’t dream of what you don’t know exists.”
Engaging the next generation
Engagement is happening, but the jury is out on whether it is enough. BSM’s Peter highlights initiatives such as Youth@ Singapore Maritime Week, where students can tour hydrographic vessels, see drones in action, or visit SIT’s maritime labs. “These initiatives showcase diverse career paths and future trends in the maritime sector,” he says.
Chrysostomou believes branding is key: “The national narrative is shifting from Singapore as merely an entrepôt with natural deep waters to a global maritime hub where trade, technology, and talent intersect. This repositioning helps engage younger generations with a more modern and aspirational vision of the sector.”
Wilhelmsen’s Lenz adds a note of realism: “For shipmanagement operations, having a team that includes professionals with sailing experience is a critical asset. However, such talent is not widely available within the local workforce.” That scarcity makes the role of education even more critical, as local institutions build up a base of technical knowledge for onshore careers.
A sector at a crossroads
What emerges from these conversations
is a sector deeply aware of the stakes. On one hand, Singapore offers world-class infrastructure, proactive government alignment, and an expanding ecosystem of scholarships and training schemes. On the other, it struggles with costs, visibility, and an image problem among young Singaporeans.
Pinteric stresses the importance of evolution. “Today, there is a conscious effort to ensure maritime identity evolves in step with sustainability goals, diversity and inclusion, and technological leadership, so that it resonates with younger generations.”
Kumar frames it as a storytelling challenge. “Maritime touches every container, every delivery, every meal on your table. It’s not a sector. It’s an engine. The future of maritime depends on the stories we tell today — not just to the world, but to our own people.”
Why it matters
For Singapore, the prize is enormous. Maritime already contributes around 7% of GDP and employs more than 170,000 people. As Tuas Port comes online and the green transition accelerates, the need for talent will only grow.
Gupta captures the balancing act: “Singapore has a long maritime history, a lustrous present, and a bold vision for the future.” To sustain that trajectory, the talent pipeline must not only keep pace with automation and AI but inspire a new generation to see the industry as relevant, rewarding, and essential.
The question is whether Singapore can shift from being the world’s best maritime hub to becoming a true maritime nation — one where the sector is not just efficient and profitable, but visible, aspirational, and deeply rooted in national identity.
As Kumar warns, “Singapore has built the infrastructure. Now, it’s on us — the employers, the leaders, the recruiters — to make it real.”
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Shipping bosses call for immigration shake-up
Splash tackles one of the thornier issues facing the local maritime community
Singapore’s maritime hub status is unquestioned — but its shipping community is increasingly vocal about one factor it believes could undermine future competitiveness: immigration.
From shipmanagers to recruiters, industry leaders argue that Singapore’s ability to attract, retain, and integrate global talent is under strain from rigid policies and red tape. Their message is clear: if the Lion City wants to remain the world’s premier shipping hub, it needs to rethink how it handles foreign professionals.
“Let’s not sugarcoat it — talent is our greatest asset, but also our greatest bottleneck,” says Ryan Kumar, director at recruitment firm Direct Search Global. “We can move a vessel across the globe faster than we can bring in a candidate. Immigration approvals should match the pace of business.”
Kumar calls for “more agility, less red tape” and a sector-specific approach. “A seasoned technical superintendent or chartering manager isn’t growing on trees in Singapore. We need targeted flexibility for sectors facing real shortages. Many of the best people I place come from India, the Philippines, Europe, or the Middle East. They bring deep sector knowledge and commercial instinct. Let’s make Singapore the place where this talent
wants to land — and can do so quickly.”
For BSM Singapore managing director Raymond Peter, the solution lies in precision. “A more dynamic Shortage Occupation List would be beneficial for businesses, particularly if it is more precisely defined for niche maritime-specific roles,” he says. “This is especially important in rapidly evolving areas like alternative fuels and maritime digitalisation. A more dynamic list would attract global specialists who are critical for the sector’s transformation.”
Bureau Veritas vice president for Southeast Asia, Drago Pinteric, echoes that call, arguing for a responsive, skills-based framework. “Such a system would enable companies to more efficiently bring in foreign professionals with specialised expertise in advanced technologies, complex supply chains, and emerging fuels – areas where local talent is limited.”
Union Marine Management Services boss Vinay Gupta stresses the importance of stability. “The driver of the maritime industry in Singapore is its human capital — yet the majority operate on employment or work passes, with little focus on long-term sustainability or succession planning,” he says. “A clearer path for expatriates in critical sectors to progress towards permanent residency would go a long way in attracting stronger talent, encouraging knowledge transfer, and
ensuring continuity.”
Wilhelmsen Ship Management’s CEO and president, Haakon Lenz, is aligned. “Streamlining long-term employment and PR processes for skilled maritime professionals could help in long-term talent retention,” he says.
Others point to softer factors.
Columbia Shipmanagement Asia CEO Demetris Chrysostomou argues that making life easier for families is key. “If we make it easier for families to settle, we make it easier for businesses to stay. Any form of assistance with housing, schooling, and integration would help attract and retain top international talent.
Consultant Peter Schellenberger looks to Dubai for inspiration. “It is ok to check whether a Singaporean wants the job or is qualified, but otherwise open the doors again backed by contracts. One big other factor would be to give expats access to public schools as many families can’t afford to come.”
The common refrain across the industry is that Singapore risks losing its edge if talent flows slow down. “A country that wins the talent war will win the business game,” Kumar warns. “Right now, we’re still playing defence.”
For a nation that thrives on global shipping, the call from industry insiders is unambiguous: immigration policy must evolve as fast as the industry it serves.
Singapore’s maritime tech ambitions unveiled
Singapore is steadily consolidating its role as one of the world’s most dynamic maritime technology hubs, blending government-led initiatives with industry collaboration and a growing ecosystem of startups. The city-state is not only piloting advanced solutions across artificial intelligence, automation, and digital platforms but is also applying these innovations at scale—turning ideas into measurable impact across global shipping.
From incubation to implementation
From testbed to global pacesetter
technologies. However, more needs to be done when it comes to incentivising companies to incorporate into their operations,” says Haakon Lenz, CEO and president of Wilhelmsen Ship Management.
Despite these challenges, the scale and scope of experimentation remain unmatched in the region.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has spearheaded initiatives ranging from PIER71—a collaboration with NUS Enterprise that has supported more than 100 startups— to regulatory sandboxes, digital twin modelling, and testbeds for autonomous shipping and maritime drones. New funds, including the Maritime Innovation and Technology (MINT) Fund, continue to inject capital into research and field trials.
“Singapore has launched numerous initiatives—including workshops, incubators, and accelerators—to foster a thriving environment for startups and companies developing emerging
“Singapore has always been at the forefront, exploring emerging technologies,” says Subhangshu Dutt, director at OM Maritime. “They walk the talk, provide funding and support to developing organisations, and help them deliver results on a continuous basis— even when many of these organisations don’t yet have a revenue source.”
Competitive edge in digital solutions
For shipowners and managers, Singapore’s focus on digital platforms is translating into real-world efficiencies.
“Singapore is investing heavily in digital solutions to keep its maritime sector competitive,” says Demetris
Chrysostomou, CEO Asia region at Columbia Shipmanagement. “Columbia Group uses AI-powered e-learning to adapt training to each adult learner, while our partner OneCare uses AI with biometrics and facial recognition to support health checks. The Maritime and Port Authority’s Digital Port project is another strong example, using data analytics to improve efficiency and streamline operations.”
Other executives highlight how these technologies are being applied across the industry.
“The hub is booming with subject matter experts utilising the latest tools and technology to find the most efficient solutions for the industry,” says Vinay Gupta, managing director of Union Marine Management Services. “From AIdriven port calls to autonomous cranes at Tuas and data-sharing platforms like SGTraDex, the entire ecosystem is brimming with the vision to set the pace. Where others experiment in isolation, Singapore applies at scale—turning ideas into outcomes, and outcomes into advantage.”
Where others experiment in isolation, Singapore applies at scale
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Fertile environment for startups
The city-state’s support ecosystem continues to attract entrepreneurs and venture capital. “It is the environment that Singapore provides—the recognition of the necessity for new ideas, coupled with the capital and resources to put those ideas into practice—that makes it the happening place for startups,” Gupta argues. “Through accelerators, innovation programmes, and dedicated testbeds, ideas don’t remain on paper. They are piloted, refined, and scaled into commercial reality.”
MariOT cybersecurity testbed—launched by MPA—is the world’s first industrialgrade cyber-physical platform dedicated to maritime operational technology.
companies seeking talent that can bridge technology with maritime know-how.”
Examples range from drone-based deliveries to autonomous underwater inspections and AI platforms predicting cargo flows. “These aren’t futuristic visions,” Gupta stresses. “They work in practice and bring immediate value to the industry.”
Lorenzo Agatiello, director for Asia Pacific at recruitment specialist Faststream, points to the PIER71 programme as a defining case study: “It has already supported over 100 startups, helping them pilot solutions with industry and raise significant venture funding. Tangible successes in green technology, digital platforms, and autonomous systems show Singapore’s strength as a launchpad for maritime innovation.”
Agatiello is particularly excited by startups focused on carbon tracking and reporting, as well as those supporting crew wellbeing and AIdriven optimisation. “These combine commercial impact with real benefits for people,” he says.
National-level leadership
Singapore’s regulators are ensuring technology adoption is not piecemeal. Initiatives include the Maritime Digital Twin unveiled in March 2025, which integrates real-time data from vessels, ports, and environmental sensors. The
“Singapore leverages AI, automation, and data analytics to optimise port operations and maintain its competitive edge,” says Niraj Nanda, chief commercial officer at Anglo-Eastern. “The MPA has set up enablers such as regulatory sandboxes, the maritime drone estate, testbeds for autonomous ships, Living Labs, and innovation funds to support R&D and field trials.”
Agatiello also highlights immigration as a crucial lever. “Policies like the ONE Pass are very welcome. To stay competitive, greater flexibility in Employment Pass criteria would help, especially where specialist skills are essential but talent may not always meet the highest thresholds. Achieving the right balance of international and local professionals will be key.”
A global benchmark
Drago Pinteric, vice president for Southeast Asia at Bureau Veritas, points out the regulatory and safety aspects of digital transformation. “Singapore is strengthening its maritime operations through AI, automation, and data analytics, positioning itself as a smart port,” he says. “Programs like the Sea Transport Industry Digital Plan help SMEs adopt these technologies to remain competitive globally.”
BV’s own digital classification platform combines drones, AI, and 3D digital twins to optimise surveys and detect corrosion, while new collaborations are targeting hydrogen storage and methanol bunkering pilots. “Singapore’s maritime sector is rapidly innovating across AI, autonomous systems, cybersecurity, and green fuels,” Pinteric says. “These projects showcase how pioneering technologies can be made safe, compliant, and ready for widespread adoption.”
The human factor
Technology alone is not enough. The demand for specialised talent is reshaping Singapore’s maritime workforce.
“Singapore is leading the way with projects like PSA’s smart port operations and MPA’s digital twin initiatives,” says Agatiello of Faststream. “We see this reflected in recruitment demand, with
Peter Schellenberger, founder of consultancy Novamaxis, stresses that Singapore’s pace of digitalisation is unmatched outside China. “In tech power, it is only rivalled by China who also go full force,” he says. Schellenberger also points to vibrant funding activity, noting the emergence of a new venture capital fund in Singapore focused on maritime and logistics, raising $150m for global startups in an AI-powered funnel evaluation.
For Wilhelmsen’s Lenz, the challenge now is ensuring the ecosystem translates innovation into long-term growth. “Singapore has put in place the right structures, but more needs to be done to incentivise companies to integrate these technologies into their daily operations,” he says.
What’s next?
Singapore’s maritime digital journey is clearly a story of momentum: a wellcoordinated public-private partnership, deep investments in infrastructure, and a growing pipeline of entrepreneurs and technologists solving real-world shipping problems.
As Columbia’s Chrysostomou concludes, “New platforms can build on these efforts, adding even more capability to Singapore’s maritime technology ecosystem.”
Singapore Inc feels the squeeze
It might be the world’s premier maritime hub, but the bills are a pain. How do you run a tight ship in the Lion Republic?
Singapore may be celebrated as one of the world’s most efficient and stable maritime hubs, but beneath the gloss, businesses are grappling with the rising cost of keeping their operations anchored in the Lion City.
The latest official figures show headline inflation easing to just 0.6% year-on-year in July 2025 — a deceptively calm number. Peel back the layers and the picture looks far less forgiving. Food and transport inflation remain stubborn (+1.1% and +2.1% respectively), while healthcare and services costs continue to gnaw at company bottom lines. For shipping firms and their suppliers, this translates into higher operational overheads and tighter margins.
The Singapore Business Federation’s National Business Survey underlines the anxiety: nearly half of firms flag the high cost of adopting new technology as a major barrier, while over a quarter report liquidity strains. Retail and hospitality have been hardest hit, but the maritime sector is far from immune.
Landlords report mixed rent trends. Prime retail spaces still command strong rates, while logistics properties show
signs of softening after earlier spikes. Utilities, however, remain costly, and the step-up in GST from 7% to 9% over 2023–24 continues to reverberate across balance sheets. Energy costs, meanwhile, have stabilised compared to the wild swings of 2024, but energy-intensive industries remain weighed down by older contracts and investments in efficiency upgrades.
The stress is showing. The food-andbeverage sector, an important barometer of small-business health, has recorded an accelerating pace of closures in 2025, driven by rent and wage inflation. Manpower costs are also surging as companies compete for limited talent, while compliance costs for new climate and digital standards add further pressure.
Shipping adapts
Shipping companies are responding with a mix of technology adoption, workforce restructuring, and cost discipline. For many, Singapore remains indispensable — but they are approaching resourcing and investment decisions more deliberately.
“Singapore has long been a strategic hub for Anglo-Eastern, and we continue to invest in its maritime ecosystem through partnerships, innovation, and knowledge-sharing,” says Niraj Nanda, chief commercial officer of the world’s largest shipmanager. “The rising cost and more limited availability of a qualified workforce are growing challenges that we are tackling with the right strategies. A hybrid model, with part of the workforce based in other countries, has proven effective.”
Nanda highlights Anglo-Eastern’s push into technology to control costs, pointing to the Anglo-Eastern Fleet Performance Centre in India, which crunches operational data to deliver fuel and emission savings. The company has also embraced shared service centres in India and Malaysia, consolidating finance, procurement and IT functions for efficiency. “The decision to utilise a shared service centre allows us to benefit from the cost advantages associated with operating in regions with lower labour costs without compromising on the quality of services rendered,” Nanda explains.
Still, Anglo-Eastern’s commitment to Singapore is clear. Earlier this year, the company consolidated its entities into a new office at Labrador Tower. “Stable and capable governance, high efficiency, a safe work environment and pro-business policies continue to position Singapore as a leading business destination,” Nanda stresses.
Daily trimming
For Vinay Gupta, managing director of Union Marine Management Services, the answer lies in relentless attention to detail. “Cost has been — and will always remain — a sore point for every business. The only way to manage it is with discipline: to treat expenses like nails that must be trimmed every day,” he says.
Technology, Gupta argues, is the enabler. “Technology provides the bedrock that allows us to diversify our workforce across locations while still maintaining centralised control. This flexibility helps us balance efficiency with cost pressures.”
Gupta views Singapore’s higher costs as an opportunity to sharpen competitiveness. “By constantly
monitoring, adjusting, and leveraging technology, Singaporean businesses can stay competitive even in a high-cost environment,” he adds.
The price of a premium ecosystem
That theme resonates with Wilhelmsen Ship Management CEO and president, Haakon Lenz. “Rising costs are a reality for doing business in Singapore,” he acknowledges. “One key challenge we face is the intense competition for competent professionals — this drives up manpower costs significantly and adds pressure on operational margins. Ultimately, Singapore offers a premium maritime ecosystem — and with that comes premium costs. The key is to ensure that the value we deliver to our customers continues to justify the investment in being here.”
Recruitment firms echo that perspective. Lorenzo Agatiello, director Asia Pacific at Faststream, argues that clients accept the higher costs because of Singapore’s quality. “Yes, Singapore is more expensive than some hubs, but at Faststream, we see our clients value what Singapore offers — stability, rule of law, connectivity, and access to top talent. Most view the higher costs as an investment in being part of a premium ecosystem that reduces long-term risks and opens opportunities.”
Outsourcing’s limits
Yet not everyone is convinced that the current strategy is sustainable. Peter Schellenberger, founder of consultancy Novamaxis, warns that the trend towards outsourcing has created its own inefficiencies. “Outsourcing of operations for shipping companies to lower cost locations is not proving ideal in terms of efficiency, and these jobs will never come back, also in the advent of AI,” he says.
His concern is that cost-driven relocations risk eroding the skills base and cohesion that have long underpinned
Singapore’s strength as a maritime hub.
Policymakers weigh relief measures
The government is alert to the issue. The 2025 budget includes targeted support measures, from training subsidies to innovation grants, designed to cushion the impact of higher business costs.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore also continues to emphasise stable governance, predictability and long-term competitiveness as the city-state’s defining advantages.
But for firms on the ground, relief feels limited. Compliance burdens for new environmental and digital regulations, higher wages for scarce talent, and the structural impact of GST hikes all add layers of cost that no subsidy can erase.
Cutting or committing?
So is Singapore becoming too expensive for shipping? The consensus among industry leaders is nuanced. Yes, costs are high and rising — but the city-state continues to offer unmatched connectivity, safety, and access to capital, talent and regulators.
As Lenz puts it, the calculus is about value as much as price. “The key is to ensure that the value we deliver to our customers continues to justify the investment in being here.”
Gupta’s metaphor of trimming nails daily, Nanda’s hybrid workforce model, Agatiello’s framing of costs as ecosystem investment, and Schellenberger’s warning about outsourcing inefficiencies all highlight a single truth: Singapore’s maritime hub status is resilient, but its firms must work harder than ever to defend margins.
For now, businesses are staying put — but they are leaner, more digital, and more deliberate. Whether that is enough to sustain Singapore’s role as the beating heart of global shipping in a high-cost era remains the billion-dollar question.
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What Singapore’s biggest shipping firms have been up to in 2025
Splash catches up with Eastern Pacific, BW, Berge Bulk, ONE and PIL
Eastern Pacific Shipping
One of Singapore’s largest integrated shipowners, Idan Ofer-controlled Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) now has one of the largest orderbooks in the industry.
It recently signed contracts for eight 6,000 teu ships at Hengli Heavy Industry and China Merchants yards, with options secured for additional units.
The deal marks a continuation of EPS’s recent push with Chinese yards. The company has already booked up to four LNG dual-fuel suezmax tankers at Hengli, alongside a series of 1,800 teu boxships at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard and Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding.
On the tech front, EPS has just joined Caravel and Mitsui OSK Lines in investing in AI safety technology firm Captain’s Eye while earlier in the year EPS lined up two of its managed vessels for the installation of artificial intelligence-based autonomous navigation technology developed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’s subsidiary Avikus. The project sees Avikus’ Hyundai intelligent Navigation Assistant System (HiNAS) Control, HiNAS Cloud and analytics platform for shore-side fleet monitoring deployed on a bulk carrier and a suezmax tanker.
BW Group
Andreas Sohmen-Pao presides over one of the world’s largest maritime empires, looking after offshore, gas, renewables, tankers and much more besides.
In terms of headlines this year, it has been Hafnia, BW’s product arm led by Mikael Skov that has been making the running. Earlier this month, Hafnia made a move for rival product tanker giant Torm. Hafnia is acquiring a 14.45% holding in its Danish rival from Oaktree Capital Management in a deal worth about $311.4m leading many analysts to speculate whether this is a first step to a takeover – something that would create a tanker giant with a fleet closing in on 200 ships.
In February, Hafnia and Cargill’s Ocean Transportation business joined forces to launch Seascale Energy, a joint venture, combining Cargill’s existing bunker business Pure Marine Fuels and Hafnia’s Bunker Alliance. The following month saw Hafnia launch FuelSure – a digital platform aiming to bring greater transparency, accountability, and cost savings to the maritime bunker fuel market – in collaboration with Studio 30 50, a venture growth team in which Hafnia was
an early investor.
Over at gas subsidiary BW Epic Kosan, meanwhile, chief commercial officer, Jakob Bode, was promoted in April to take over as CEO from long-term boss Charles Maltby.
Berge Bulk
James Marshall-led Berge Bulk continues to tweak its fleet to ensure it is one of the greenest operators in the dry bulk space.
Berge Bulk completed the installation of a carbon capture system onboard its 63,000 dwt ultramax vessel, Berge Yotei, earlier this year (pictured), while other ships in the fleet are already equipped with wind technology.
In another landmark, in March Berge Bulk completed the world’s first retrofit installation of the Renk Integrated Front-end Power System (IFPS) shaft generator on its vessel, Berge Dachstein, a newcastlemax.
At the start of the year, another newcastlemax, the Berge Lyngor, on charter to BHP, pioneered an iron ore voyage from Australia to China powered entirely by B100 biodiesel.
Berge Bulk also made headlines in April when it bought a 7.3% stake in New Yorklisted dry bulk player Genco.
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Ocean Network Express
It’s been a busy year for Ocean Network Express (ONE), the Singaporeheadquartered containerline owned by Japanese heavyweights Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line). The start of the year saw an alliance reshuffle with ONE now the largest member of the newly formed Premier Alliance, a group that consists of other liners from Asia, Yang Ming and HMM, who are also being helped out by Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) on some services.
February saw ONE team with Korean logistics outfit LX Pantos to create Boxlinks, a joint venture providing end-to-end domestic intermodal transportation services in the US. Boxlinks provides customised service to customers in the US, leveraging access to an expanded equipment pool. Customers can utilise containers through Boxlinks for their inland-to-coastal transportation needs.
In June, Splash reported on cash-rich
ONE’s decision to order eight 15,900 teu LNG dual-fuel vessels at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for $1.76bn.
While the 2020s have been a fabulously rich period for liner shipping as a whole, and ONE will likely stay highly profitable for 2025, there is a growing air of caution.
ONE released its Q1 results at the start of August, slashing $400m off its full year forecast with CEO Jeremy Nixon citing ongoing geopolitical and economic challenges.
“Our full year forecast is likely to face headwinds from continued geopolitical uncertainties and evolving market conditions in key economies and port congestion that impact global supply chains,” Nixon said.
Pacific International Lines
Pacific International Lines (PIL) has been steadily building back its fleet to go above pre-crisis levels. At the start of this decade the liner faced severe financial difficulties and was saved by a unit of Temasek, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. New
management and new funds - combined with the greatest few years of earnings liner shipping has ever experienced - have seen PIL on a much more firm footing, its fleet today standing in excess of 432,000 slots, cementing its position as the world’s 12th largest containerline. Two more ship deliveries will see its fleet hit the 100-ship mark.
PIL’s renaissance even saw it top of the charts when it came to operating margins among the world’s largest containerlines earlier this year.
Analysts at Alphaliner crunched the numbers on the company’s 2024 annual results where PIL managed total operating profits (EBIT) on container shipping activities of $1.3bn, after liner revenues nearly tripled year-on-year to $3.8bn. The resulting operating margin of 35.3% propelled PIL to the top of the rankings for 2024 as a whole, above second place Evergreen Marine and the remaining publicly-reporting top carriers excluding privately-held MSC.
Notably this decade, PIL has been building up its network and offices in Latin America and Africa.
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Singapore’s quest for more shipowning HQs
The Lion Republic is home to some of the biggest shipowner names, but, in reality, it punches below its weight in terms of the actual numbers of owners who call the place home
Singapore is without question the world’s most vibrant maritime hub. Its port runs like clockwork, bunkering volumes dominate, arbitration and finance thrive, and the government pushes hard on green and digital transitions. Yet for all its clout, one curious gap remains: relatively few shipowners actually base their headquarters here.
Yes, Singapore might boast some of the largest shipowners in the world - such as BW, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Ocean Network Express, Pacific International Lines, X-Press Feeders, Swire, Berge Bulk - but in sheer numbers of individual shipowning companies who are headquartered here it remains a long way behind many other hubs
The Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS) boasts more than 4,400 vessels totalling
100m gross tons. The Singapore Shipping Association counts 460+ members across the industry. But the number of true shipowning HQs in town remains thin.
Compared with Greece, Norway, Denmark, or even Shanghai, Singapore is punching below its weight in terms of ownership presence.
What’s missing?
Ryan Kumar, director at local HR specialist Direct Search Global, doesn’t mince words. “Shipowners don’t move for scenery—they move for strategy. Singapore already has the fundamentals— low political risk, strong legal system, tax perks, access to capital. But today that’s the baseline, not the differentiator.”
Kumar points to three gaps Singapore must fix if it wants more owners calling
it home: Regulatory clarity. “Owners want confidence—stable, transparent rules— and regulators who actually understand day-to-day shipping.” Secondly, talent. “You don’t build a HQ with just buildings—you need brains,” Kumar says. “Can you hire a good superintendent or chartering manager here without a sixmonth wait and a stack of rejected work passes? Right now, that’s tough.” And finally, there’s innovation pull. “Singapore can’t just be where they register. It has to be where they reinvent,” Kumar argues. “Give them green tax breaks, sandbox licences, co-innovation grants. Owners are watching where they’ll thrive in the next 10 years.”
The cost question
Vinay Gupta, managing director at
Union Marine Management Services, is clear: “With so many positives— political stability, certainty, high-quality governance, fantastic infrastructure, low taxation—Singapore is an ideal place for shipowners. The one sticking point is cost. Operations here are expensive. The only fix is to better tap Singapore’s own highly skilled workforce to get value from the higher outlay.”
That refrain is familiar. Premium hub, premium price.
Wilhelmsen Ship Management boss Haakon Lenz warns in our Costs section of this magazine that “intense competition for competent professionals” is driving manpower costs to painful levels.
Some shipmanagers believe hybrid structures are the way forward.
Columbia Shipmanagement’s Asia CEO, Demetris Chrysostomou, says: “The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has done well with incentives, but there’s still room to make things smoother. A central online portal listing every service a shipowner needs to set up HQ here would help. And a ‘HQ-lite’
model could work—keep the strategy team in Singapore while moving ops roles to neighbouring countries. That way companies still benefit from Singapore’s ecosystem but manage costs.”
Others argue owners already see the upside.
“Most of our clients view higher costs as an investment,” says Lorenzo Agatiello, director for Asia Pacific at recruiter Faststream. “What Singapore offers— stability, rule of law, connectivity, top talent—reduces long-term risks and opens opportunities. That’s worth paying for.”
Drago Pinteric, vice president for Southeast Asia at Bureau Veritas, highlights Singapore’s infrastructure play. “Tuas Port, the world’s largest fully automated container terminal, gives owners operational scale and efficiency. And strong industry-government collaboration adds to the appeal. Singapore’s reputation for compliance, finance, arbitration and technical expertise remains unmatched.”
Pinteric says classification societies like BV also make Singapore more
What would move the needle?
Industry voices converge on a few clear steps: Cut the red tape around visas and work passes; build out a deeper technical and commercial talent pool; keep hammering on tax and green incentives; push regulatory transparency from the top down to daily practice; create a onestop online portal for HQ services.
In short, keep Singapore premium— but make it easier, faster and smarter to run a shipping company here.
Or, as Beng Tee Tan, the executive
attractive by helping owners meet decarbonisation challenges. “We provide class rules, advisory services and green finance guidance to ensure owners make future-proof decisions.”
Why it matters
In 2024 alone, more than 30 maritime companies established or expanded their presence in Singapore. Momentum is real. But the bulk of global fleet control still resides in Athens, Oslo, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Tokyo and China.
For Singapore to fully cement its place as the undisputed global maritime capital, ownership must follow the ecosystem. Otherwise, it risks being the world’s busiest hub where everyone transacts— while the real power sits elsewhere.
Kumar sums it up neatly: “Owners are watching where they’ll thrive in the next decade—not just where they’ve survived the last one. If Singapore wants to be more than a flag of convenience and a port of call, it has to give them a reason to bet big here.”
director at the Singapore Maritime Foundation, and arguably the lady responsible for bringing more of the shipping industry to this Southeast Asian republic in the 21st century than anyone else, puts it: “To maintain our lead in a time of constant change means that maritime Singapore needs to be more agile, anticipate changes and adapt quicker to these developments.”
World’s top bunker hub charts multi-fuel course
Singapore is showing the rest of the world how to move on from standard bunkers
Singapore has spent the past year turning alternative fuel ambition into operating rules, shipyard contracts, and measurable bunker volumes. The world’s largest bunker hub closed 2024 with record sales of 54.92m tonnes, and 2025 has so far kept pace, boosted by longer Red Sea diversions and shipowners’ demand for reliability through the strait. But beneath the headline tonnage, the mix is shifting. Alternative fuels cleared the milliontonne mark for the first time in 2024, and methanol has moved from pilot runs to a regulated line of business. LNG continues to hold its ground, and ammonia is emerging from memorandum to hardware order.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) reported that alternative fuel bunker sales in 2024 hit 1.34m tonnes—double the prior year—with about 880,000 tonnes of bio-blends and more than 460,000 tonnes of LNG. Methanol volumes remain small, but 2025 has been the year when Singapore began putting them on a structured footing. In March, MPA launched Technical Reference
TR129, a national standard for methanol bunkering, and companion standards for methanol bunker tankers. Within weeks, the authority opened applications for methanol supply licences. Applicants must show compliant tonnage, storage, delivery systems, and transparent metering to qualify. The first licences are due by Q4 2025, with a limited set of initial suppliers expected to lead the rollout.
This regulatory clarity matters for owners who have invested in methanolcapable ships. Singapore’s approach dovetails with its wider aim of supplying more than 1m tonnes of low-carbon methanol a year by 2030. That target now looks more realistic as bunker suppliers line up the necessary hardware. Trafigura-backed TFG Marine has chartered four methanol-capable bunker barges from Consort Bunkers, each around 6,500 dwt with mass flow meters, timed for delivery across 2024 and 2025. Fratelli Cosulich is also set to introduce a methanol dual-fuel bunker barge into Singapore waters in late 2025. These moves mean that once licences are issued, operational tonnage will be in place from
day one.
The LNG segment, which accounted for nearly a third of alternative fuel sales last year, is also preparing for a next phase. MPA has scheduled new reloading trials and operational enhancements in the second half of 2025 to maintain LNG’s competitiveness. LNG’s infrastructure lessons—dedicated barges, trained crews, tested STS playbooks—have informed Singapore’s methanol framework.
But the city-state’s multi-fuel agenda doesn’t stop with methanol and LNG. Ammonia is now firmly on the radar. In May, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Itochu signed a deal with Singapore’s authorities to conduct the world’s first ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering demonstration. The project is part of Singapore’s wider effort to trial ammonia as a marine fuel in the port by 2025. Just weeks later, Itochu went a step further, ordering the world’s first purpose-built ammonia bunkering vessel from Murakami Hide Shipbuilding. The 3,500 cu m ship is designed to deliver both low- and zero-carbon ammonia as a marine fuel. Delivery is expected in late 2026, positioning Singapore to host
commercial ammonia bunkering in the second half of the decade.
These milestones are not isolated. Singapore has staged methanol bunkering safety drills, involving pilots, port operators, and ship crews, to ensure readiness. They follow a high-profile spill last year involving conventional fuels that underscored the importance of discipline in bunkering operations, regardless of fuel type. Authorities are keeping safety central as they move from one-off pilots to mainstream fuel flows.
The numbers back the strategy. May 2025 posted the strongest monthly bunker total since early 2024 at nearly 4.9m tonnes, with LNG sales of around 55,000 tonnes for the month and bioblends surging compared to the previous year. June stayed strong, up 7.5% year-on-year. These numbers show that alternative fuels are no longer just trial runs—they are a consistent part of the Singapore mix. Methanol volumes have not yet appeared in monthly stats, but with licences and barges lining up, they could show up in published data by late 2025 or early 2026.
Market watchers say this dual focus— keeping conventional volumes flowing while institutionalising alternative fuels—explains Singapore’s staying power as the world’s leading bunkering hub. For owners, the appeal is reliability. For suppliers, early licences and bunker
Singapore will set the template for how the energy transition in bunkering is standardised at scale
vessel orders offer a competitive edge. For cargo shippers, Singapore’s scale and safety-first stance provide confidence that new fuels can be adopted without disruption.
Industry voices stress that Singapore is not picking winners. Lorenzo Agatiello, director of Faststream Recruitment in Singapore, says: “Singapore has taken a deliberate multi-fuel approach. It invested early in LNG and is now leading methanol and ammonia trials alongside regulatory work. Hydrogen and biofuels remain on the radar. The aim is clear: whatever fuel wins out, Singapore’s infrastructure and rules will already be ready.”
That neutrality is echoed by managers. Niraj Nanda, chief commercial officer of Anglo-Eastern, notes: “Singapore is preparing for a multi-fuel future with infrastructure, standards, and trials for methanol, ammonia, hydrogen, biofuels, and LNG. Our Green Pioneer trials in 2024 showed ammonia’s potential as a marine fuel, and we are working with MPA on crew training requirements. We don’t see Singapore favouring one fuel—it is keeping options open while pursuing a diversified strategy.”
Classification societies are also heavily
engaged. Drago Pinteric, vice president, Southeast Asia, Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, asserts: “Singapore stays fuel-neutral, backing methanol, ammonia, hydrogen, biofuels, and e-fuels. Methanol is gaining momentum, ammonia is advancing through trials, and digital tools like e-BDNs and digital fuel IDs improve safety and efficiency. Bureau Veritas helps de-risk these fuels with rules, notations, and approvals, ensuring safe and compliant adoption worldwide.”
For now, methanol is the immediate headline. With standards published, licences pending, and barges on order, methanol is poised to become a real bunker product in Singapore within the next 18 months. LNG will continue to provide optionality, while ammonia edges closer through ship orders and demonstration projects.
Singapore’s strategy is clear: safeguard the vast conventional fuel base, institutionalise methanol, extend LNG options, and pioneer ammonia. If it can pull all three off in parallel, the port will not just remain the world’s largest bunkering hub—it will set the template for how energy transition in bunkering is standardised at scale.
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Singapore yards juggle big wins and old wounds
What’s been making headlines in the local shipyard scene this year?
Singapore’s shipbuilding industry in 2025 is walking a tightrope between record offshore work and the lingering shadow of past corruption cases. The city-state’s yards remain some of the most capable in the world, able to handle complex floating production systems, conversions and specialised vessels, but reputational risk and legal baggage have kept the sector under scrutiny.
Seatrium, the heavyweight formed from the merger of Keppel O&M and Sembcorp Marine, has been in the headlines almost weekly this year. On the positive side, its orderbook is stacked with high-value projects. In the offshore energy space, it has landed repeat work from BP on a new production unit for the Gulf of Mexico and signed a contract with Golar LNG to carry out a major upgrade on one of its floating LNG assets. Kinetics tapped Seatrium for an FSRU conversion, while International Maritime Industries brought in the yard for offshore rig construction. Meanwhile, Turkish power barge specialist Karpowership doubled down with Seatrium to expand its floating power fleet, underscoring the yard’s role as a go-to builder for energy infrastructure
with a floating footprint.
These wins reflect Singapore’s status as a trusted partner for large and technically demanding projects, with Seatrium positioning itself as an integrator for both oil majors and independent owners. The push into FLNG, FPSOs and FSRUs is complemented by a pipeline of lower-carbon upgrades as owners look to extend the life of existing tonnage while cutting emissions. The strategy is clear: keep oil and gas clients while winning new business tied to the energy transition.
However, the yard has also had to deal with unfinished business. The Brazilian Operation Car Wash probe, which has haunted Singapore’s offshore sector for years, came back into focus in 2025. Seatrium reached settlements to resolve fines linked to the investigation, a necessary step to clear the decks, but one that also triggered legal wrangling. Keppel, which spun off its O&M unit into Seatrium, has been pursuing arbitration over payments, and counterparties have eyed the group’s liabilities with caution. The saga has been a reminder that even with the strongest technical credentials, governance and compliance issues can weigh heavily on yard reputations.
Seatrium is not alone in shaping the 2025 orderbook. Other Singapore yards have been active, showing that the sector is not just about oil and gas. ST Engineering secured an order for a walk-to-work vessel, demonstrating how Singapore’s builders are tapping demand for offshore wind support. Marco Polo Marine locked in a vessel services contract with Cyan Renewables, adding momentum to the renewables supply chain. PaxOcean, another major local player, has lined up up to four offshore construction vessel newbuilds, giving further proof that offshore wind and subsea work are becoming regular business for Singapore’s builders.
Analysts note that Singapore’s yards are benefitting from a mix of steady offshore hydrocarbons work and emerging renewables demand, but they caution that counterparty risk is now a central concern for financiers and charterers. Global owners and banks are closely tracking governance issues as well as delivery schedules. The message for Singapore’s builders is blunt: technical excellence still brings orders, but clients now expect legal clarity and financial transparency alongside weld quality.
Why shipping needs a new breed of executive
Irene Rosberg, programme director of the Blue MBA at Copenhagen Business School, writes for Splash
Leadership in the maritime industry is being tested like never before. While ships navigate increasingly complex trade routes and operational risks, the same must be demanded of those guiding the industry from the boardroom. Yet many of those boardrooms are still stuck in the past. As geopolitical tensions rise, digitalisation accelerates and the regulatory landscape shifts, we must ask a hard question: do we have the right people making the big decisions at sea and on shore?
Many shipping boards today are out of sync with the world we live in. While the industry faces challenges ranging from cyber risk and decarbonisation to global trade instability, too many boardrooms remain filled with individuals whose experience is either too narrow or no longer aligned with the demands of modern governance.
It is not a comfortable truth, but it is one the industry must confront. For too long, board appointments have been handed out based on familiarity or time served rather than strategic capability. Experience in a single sector, no matter how valuable at the time, does not automatically translate into the kind of broad, up-to-date thinking that effective leadership now requires.
This is not about dismissing experience. It is about recognising that experience alone is not enough. Board members must be able to engage with
issues well beyond their own operational background. Today, that means understanding shifting global risks, applying digital and data-driven thinking, and responding to mounting stakeholder pressure around sustainability, governance and long-term value.
to think differently and lead more effectively. That belief is what inspired the development of the Blue Board Programme. It is a response to the need for more agile, informed and forwardlooking governance in shipping.
Equally important is diversity. Not
It is time that the boardroom reflected the world it is supposed to govern
One of the most worrying trends is the growing disconnect between the pace of change in the industry and the static nature of many boardrooms. From geopolitical instability in key maritime corridors to the rise of AI and automation, board-level leadership must now operate with agility, foresight and a genuine grasp of what is shaping the industry from all angles.
Too often, however, boards are reactive. Decisions are made slowly or framed through outdated assumptions. In today’s climate, the boardroom cannot simply be a space for oversight. It must be a space for strategy. It must connect global volatility with local impact and enable companies to navigate uncertainty with confidence.
That is why leadership development at board level needs a serious rethink. We need fewer generic leadership programmes and more sector-specific, case-led initiatives that challenge people
just in gender, though that remains critical, but in perspective, discipline and background. We need more people at the table who understand technology, finance, ESG and complex global systems. We also need to be bringing in individuals who are closer to the current realities of the sector, not those whose knowledge has drifted with time.
Competence, not comfort, must shape the future of board appointments. If we continue to select leaders based solely on who they know or where they used to work, we are not positioning our organisations for the challenges ahead. We are simply preserving a structure that no longer fits.
Leadership at sea is no longer confined to the vessel. The real decisions, the ones that define the direction, resilience and reputation of companies, are being made in the boardroom. It is time that the boardroom reflected the world it is supposed to govern.
