Dear mariners and friends, welcome to the inaugural issue of the Safety@Sea e-Bulletin!
As part of the commemoration of the Singapore Bicentennial, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is taking this opportunity to recognise the achievements of our pioneers who have contributed immensely to the growth of Singapore. Singapore has transformed from a small trading outpost to the world's second largest container shipping port and the biggest bunkering port in the world. As a premier global hub port, more than 130,000 ships call at Singapore each year.
It is vital to ensure the safety of navigation and protection of the environment with an increasing number of ships and passengers. A major accident at sea can result in loss of life, property, and damage to the environment; and may even disrupt normal vessel traffic flows.
A safety-first culture at sea is therefore of the highest priority.
MPA, on its part, is actively promoting a safety-first culture at sea, and implement key initiatives to improve maritime safety. One of the key initiatives is Project SAFER - a joint project with IBM using analytics based technologies. It aims to make our sea lanes safer by improving the accuracy of information about ship location and movement time as well as detect suspicious vessel behaviour.
To improve search and rescue capabilities, MPA and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore have invested in new satellite technology called the medium-altitude earth orbit search and rescue (MEOSAR) system which receives distress signals emitted from emergency beacons activated by ships, aircraft or people in distress.
MPA is heartened to also work with industry players and the community who are equally concerned about safety at sea. These include the National Maritime Safety at Sea Council, the Singapore Shipping Association, PSA Marine, institutes of higher learning amongst others.
As new developments and new global maritime regulations introduce ever more complexity to maritime safety issues, MPA will continue to work with our key partners to keep the waters around Singapore safe and secure.
