Establishment of MPA Sustainability Office
The MPA Sustainability Office was launched by our Chief Executive, Mr Andrew Tan, on 22 April 2014. This new office is headed by Director (Shipping), Mr Tan Suan Jow, and will report directly to the Chief Executive. The key objective of the Sustainability Office is to promote a culture of good practices in governance, resource management and environment sustainability in MPA and the wider maritime industry in Singapore. MPA’s sustainability efforts will cover four key areas, namely (i) Environment; (ii) Governance; (iii) Social; and (iv) Financial in order to be aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Framework but with greater emphasis on the first two areas. The MPA aims to publish our inaugural Sustainability Report in Q1 2015. By taking the lead and an early start in sustainability efforts, MPA will also be able to test-bed many of the new concepts now and to incorporate the implementable ideas and designs into the Next Generation Port 2030 project. Singapore can then further differentiate itself from other global ports as we build a more environmentally-friendly and resource efficient port at Tuas in the future.
APL TOURMALINE provides humanitarian aid to distressed sailing vessel
On 28 May 2014, Singapore-registered ship APL Tourmaline received a message from the United States Coast Guard that a sailing vessel in the North Atlantic Ocean was in distress. Captain Qian Yudong and his crew proceeded immediately to the location and supplied diesel oil and provisions to the distressed sailing vessel which was found to be low on fuel. MPA would like to compliment the officers and crew of APL Tourmaline for answering the distress call and lending a helping hand.
AZUL LIBERO rescued stranded man off Ternate Island, Indonesia
Singapore-registered ship Azul Libero received a distress alert in the North of Ternate Island, Indonesia on 19 June 2014. The master and crew initiated a rescue operation of an Indonesian man stranded on a bamboo floating platform. We commend the master and crew who provided food and shelter to the survivor. MRCC Bali, Manado & Ternate coordinated further safe landing of the survivor.
SAR operations in the Mediterranean Sea
In the Mediterranean Sea off Malta Island, three SAR operations took place between April and June 2014 involving our Singapore-registered ships, Nord Farer, Maersk Rhode Island and Alpine Eternity.
Nord Farer was involved in the SAR operations of 300 persons in the Mediterranean Sea. On 8 April 2014, the Nord Farer responded to instructions from MRCC Rome on three distressed vessels. Nord Farer proceeded to the estimated locations of the persons and provided all possible humanitarian aid to these persons.
On 8 June 2014, Maersk Rhode Island was instructed by MRCC Malta to assist with a rescue operation. The distressed vessel was reported to carry 219 passengers including 2 pregnant women and 26 children. The master and crew of Maersk Rhode Island had acted most professionally to ensure the safe and expeditious rescue of the 219 persons. The survivors were disembarked at Porto Empedocle, Sicily under the instruction of Italian authorities.
In a separate incident, on 9 June 2014, Alpine Eternity went to the rescue of a distressed vessel under the instruction of MRCC Rome. The master and crew of Alpine Eternity showed courage in going to the rescue of 348 persons and graciously extended all possible humanitarian aid to them. The survivors disembarked at Porto Empedocle, Sicily under the instruction of Italian authorities.
We would like to congratulate the master and crew of Nord Farer, Maersk Rhode Island and Alpine Eternity for their gallant efforts!
We are aware of isolated cases where fraudsters have attempted to scam foreign business principals or shipowners using fabricated emails and fake invoices. MPA would like to inform our stakeholders that all bills from MPA are denominated in Singapore Dollars and payable to a local Singapore bank account. Please be aware that for each MPA customer account, authorised finance users are able to view online, download and print the PDF versions of hardcopy bills and statement of accounts, via Marinet. GIRO is our preferred payment mode. Other e-payment modes available include e-Nets (direct debit to bank account) and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard and Amex). More information about MPA financial matters and e-finance are available here. You could also contact us at 63751695 or ar_mpa@mpa.gov.sg for any billing enquiries.
The EU Ship Recycling Regulation entered into force on 30 December 2013. The new Ship Recycling Regulation will apply to ships flying the flag of an EU Member State, and to ships flying the flag of a third country calling at EU ports or anchorages. More information on the Regulation can be found on the European Commission website.
We are very pleased to announce that the Singapore Registry’s commitment to safety and quality has been recognised by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) through the qualification of the QUALSHIP 21 (Quality Shipping for the 21st Century) programme.
The eligibility criteria for QUALSHIP 21 are stringent. Besides a requirement that the three-year rolling average detention ratio for ships flying its flag must be less than 1.0%, the ship, the shipowners and operators, and the Recognised Organisations must also meet the qualifying criteria set by the USCG.
This achievement marks the third time the Singapore Registry has qualified for the QUALSHIP 21 Programme. The previous times that we qualified were in 2004 and 2010.
“I congratulate all our stakeholders and seafarers on Singapore ships, as well as MPA staff for this achievement. Their commitment, dedication and hard work to maintain and operate Singapore ships at the highest standards are commendable. Let us continue to work closely and maintain this excellent performance.“ – Mr Tan Suan Jow (Director of Marine, MPA)
QUALSHIP 21 Programme
The USCG implemented QUALSHIP 21 programme in 2001 to recognise and reward high quality ships and to provide incentives to encourage quality operations. These incentives include:
A QUALSHIP 21 Certificate valid for two years
The ship’s name being posted on the US Coast Guard Port State Control website and EQUASIS
For tankers, the annual Certificate of Compliance (COC) examination will be reduced in scope
For other cargo ships, two years of limited Port State Control oversight
Some of the criteria for a ship to qualify for QUALSHIP 21 are as follows:
No substandard ship detention in the US within the previous 36 months
No marine violations, no more than one paid Notice of Violation case
Successful US Port State Control safety examination within the past 12 months
Not owned or operated by any company that has been associated with a substandard ship detained in US waters within the previous 24 months
Statutory certificates are not issued by a targeted recognized organisation (RO) - a targeted RO is any RO that has points assigned by the US PSC Matrix
The USCG reserves the right to restrict eligibility in the QUALSHIP 21 programme to any ship because of special circumstances including but not limited to, significant overseas casualties or detentions, or pending criminal or civil investigations.
The owner or operator of eligible ships will be contacted by the USCG to enrol their ships into the programme.
For more information, please visit the USCG Port State Control website.