Page 14 - SG Nautilus Issue 47.indb

ISSUE 47 PAGE 12

SPECIAL FEATURE

support to the SG-STAR Fund, including its technical
MPA ALSO HOPES TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY expertise in shipping. The fund now stands at
S$1.68 million (approximately US$1.2 million), and will
TO ACCELERATE THE TRANSFORMATION OF be disbursed upstream where seafarers hail from.

MARITIME SINGAPORE TO FUTURE-PROOF IT. SAFEGUARDING GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS
When the number of new daily confi rmed cases
I AM CONFIDENT THAT THIS WILL BETTER climbed above 50 in April, with about one-third of the
cases unlinked, Singapore made the diffi cult decision
POSITION MARITIME SINGAPORE FOR THE to implement a ‘circuit breaker’ to reduce physical
interactions. Only key economic sectors and essential
NEW NORMAL POST-COVID-19. services critical for local and global supply chains — such
as food establishments, supermarkets, and clinics —
Ms Quah Ley Hoon could operate, with safe distancing measures in place.
Chief Executive
MPA MPA, which kept in regular contact with the
maritime industry and unions, raised awareness of
Despite these heightened measures, the Port these measures as well as identifi ed essential service
of Singapore continued to run effi ciently to keep providers to ensure that essential maritime services
global supply chain disruptions to a minimum. — such as bunkering, ship stores, and ship supplies
While short-term visitors were not allowed to enter — were not disrupted.
or transit through Singapore, MPA was willing As an active member of the international maritime
to review the situation to allow for crew change community, MPA, on April 24, initiated a declaration
under special circumstances. From March 27 till to be signed by 20 members of the Port Authorities
September, MPA completed about 40,000 cases of Roundtable (PAR) so that port operations could remain

crew sign-ons and sign-offs, involving some 2,800 undisrupted. This called for its 20 signatories — who
companies and 3,500 ships. hail from Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North America
To further facilitate crew changes, MPA, with the — to commit to keeping their ports open amid the
support of PSA Singapore, set up a Crew Facilitation pandemic. This declaration, a first for PAR, was also

Centre (CFC) at the Tanjong Pagar Terminal on shared with the International Maritime Organization
September 1. It is a self-contained facility with an and the International Association of Ports and Harbors
onsite medical centre, as well as testing and holding to rally other port authorities to join this declaration.
facilities. The CFC will house sign-on crew for up to On May 29, an updated declaration was issued as
72 hours prior to boarding, where required, if their more port authorities came on board the declaration.
ship and fl ight schedules do not match. Sign-off
crew, on the other hand, will depart directly from TIDING MARITIME BUSINESSES OVER
Singapore or stay at designated holding facilities — During the pandemic, maritime businesses were
either the Seacare Hotel or accommodation vessel buoyed by the Singapore Government’s four budgets
POSH Bawean — for up to 72 hours for the safety of — totalling S$193 billion — which were targeted at
both the shipping and local communities.
To accelerate and propagate best practices of
safe crew change, MPA, SSA, SMOU, and SOS have
established the S$1 million Singapore Shipping
Tripartite Alliance Resilience (SG-STAR) Fund. The
Singapore-based fund is the fi rst global tripartite
initiative bringing together like-minded international
partners from industry, unions, and governments
to facilitate solutions for safe crew changes, such as
best practices for crew holding facilities and swab
testing centres. The International Transport Workers’
Federation and the International Maritime Employers’
Council have jointly contributed US$500,000 to
the SG-STAR Fund to support best practices for
crew change at the crew supplying countries. The
International Chamber of Shipping will also lend