2018 has been a fruitful year for the Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS). As we move forward to a new year, let's start the year right with a year-end review as we look back at some of the highlights of our work in 2018.
Singapore Flag - A Symbol of Quality
Singapore Flag - A Symbol of Quality With strong support from the shipping community to the Singapore Flag, we are pleased to share that the SRS has crossed the 90 million GT milestone, maintaining our position among the top five biggest registries in the world.
To ensure Singapore ships operate at a high standard of safety worldwide and perform well when inspected by foreign port authorities, we have implemented the SRS Quality Flag Assessment 5-year Programme or SRS QP5 for short. Under this programme, in addition to local inspections, our Flag State Control officers will also conduct the overseas inspection on selected Singapore ships. Ships are selected for overseas inspection based on a risk matrix, taking into account whether the ships call at Singapore. During these overseas trips, our officers also took the opportunity to visit and enhance our bilateral ties with the local port authorities.
Focused on Customer Experience
The 24/7 customer service hotline was launched to respond to urgent ship technical, crewing and registry matters after office hours. This service has been well-utilised and we have received good feedbacks from the shipping community. To reduce the administrate burden, MPA has commenced the issuance of E-certificates to Singapore-registered ships and have been expanding it in phases so that all Singapore-registered ships receive their E-certs upon issuance of new certificates or renewal of existing certificates. To date, about 10,000 E-certs have been issued by MPA to Singapore-registered ships. MPA has also authorised our Recognised Organisations (ROs) and they have also started issuing statutory E-certs to Singapore-registered ships on our behalf.
Embracing Digitalisation
In line with our push to better serve the shipping community and embrace the digitalisation of the maritime industry, we have embarked on several service enhancements and have expanded the suite of services on Marinet. Application for the Singapore Seaman Discharge Book and the Maritime Labour Convention financial security certificates can now be completed on Marinet. To minimise delays in crew signing on board Singapore ships, the Receipt of Acknowledgement will be automatically issued upon application of MPA's Certificate of Endorsement.
To embrace and harness new technologies for productivity, we have, in collaboration with various stakeholders completed the Proof of Concepts for the use of Blockchain for ship registration and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for the issuance of the crew and ship certificates. We will continue to explore the use of these new technologies and implement them in 2019.
New Chief Executive at the Helm
On 1 January 2019, MPA welcomed Ms Quah Ley Hoon as the new Chief Executive of MPA. Many of you may have already met her at the recent SRS Forum 2018. Prior to joining MPA, Ley Hoon served as a Chief Editor in Mediacorp and has also held several leadership appointments in various organisations in government service including the Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Finance.
Under the new leadership, SRS will continue to work with our stakeholders, industry players to improve our processes for online submissions and e-appointments so as to enhance the experience for our customers. We would not have been able to achieve all these if not for the strong support from the shipping community. Let us work together to ride this wave for a more productive, efficient and sustainable future.
