DESPITE the gloomy economic climate, there is no let-up in the maritime community's commitment to cleaner shipping and protection of the marine environment. And the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is driving maritime research and development in clean technologies.
Singapore remains the world's busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage. In 2008, some 130,000 vessels called here. At any one time, there are about 1,000 vessels in port.
About 25 per cent of the world's coral species are also found around Singapore, and local waters are used for a variety of purposes from commercial to leisure.
Protection of the marine environment is therefore of paramount importance to Singapore, and MPA is responsible for ensuring that usage of local waters by ships and craft, as well as the operations and development of the port, are environmentally friendly.
Although shipping is the most environmentally friendly mode of transport, there are increasing expectations for the shipping sector to further improve its environmental credentials.
Singapore's strong commitment to environmentally friendly shipping is underscored by the country being one of few in Asia to be a party to all the Annexes of MARPOL - the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) convention for the prevention of ship-source pollution.
In addition, MPA has an effective and efficient response capacity for marine incidents to minimise any impact on the marine environment, should prevention fail.
Singapore has implemented numerous measures to encourage environmentally friendly shipping in its port. MPA introduced a port dues waiver scheme in 2005 to encourage the bunker industry to begin fleet renewal to double-hull tankers. This scheme was extended from April 1, 2008 for another three years. It is MPA's hope that Singapore's efforts to encourage the bunker industry to switch to double-hull tankers early will have a positive demonstration effect on phasing out single-hull tankers worldwide, leading to more environmentally friendly shipping.
Port operators have also introduced electric cranes and are testing the use of hybrid engines. Before any port development work starts, environmental impact assessments have to be carried out. In the course of developing Phases 3 and 4 of Pasir Panjang Terminal, Singapore is spending more than $20 million on measures to mitigate the impact on the marine environment, including an environmental monitoring and management plan, silt screens and the relocation of corals.
Singapore believes the continuous development of clean technologies will reduce ship-source pollution while enhancing port and shipping efficiency. With this, MPA is driving maritime R&D in clean technologies as part of its its commitment to cleaner shipping and the protection of the marine environment. This is done in partnership with tertiary research institutions and the industry, supported by MPA's $100 million Maritime Innovation and Technology Fund (Mint) Fund. Two new strategic R&D areas of the Mint Fund are clean energy and environmental technology.
'This underscores MPA's commitment to encourage the development of more eco-friendly shipping R&D projects in pursuit of reducing pollution from ships while enhancing port and shipping efficiency,' said MPA's director for technology Toh Ah Cheong.
Ongoing projects under the clean-energy strategic thrust include ballast-water treatment systems, integrated shipboard waste-water treatment and an environmentally benign anti-fouling additive.
The Integrated Shipboard Wastewater Treatment System project, known as MEMSHIP, uses membrane technology that will make ships even more environmentally friendly. The project started almost four years ago following the signing of a memorandum of understanding on maritime R&D, education and training among three countries - China, Norway, and Singapore. It is driven by Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, with strong participation by researchers from China.
'Compared with current methods used on merchant ships, the new system saves space and energy. As such, shipboard waste-water can be treated more efficiently. This makes it much easier for ships to meet international shipping regulations that disallow the discharge of sewage overboard into the sea,' said Wong Fook Sin, vice-president of the Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering at NTU, who is overseeing the project. Full commercial deployment of MEMSHIP is expected to take place in two years.
The environmentally benign anti-fouling additive, jointly developed by the National University of Singapore's Tropical Marine Science Institute and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, is another project aimed at enhancing environmentally friendly shipping. The project offers a practical and environmentally friendly solution to marine fouling, while at the same time reducing fuel consumption and lowering maintenance costs.
The protection of the marine environment and cleaner shipping requires thought leaders from leading research institutions and the industry to brainstorm and develop effective and practical solutions.
With this in mind, as part of Singapore Maritime Week 2009, the sixth International Chemical and Oil Pollution Conference and Exhibition (ICOPCE) brings together specialists and industry players to share insights, best practices and experiences in pollution prevention and response.
ICOPCE will be held from April 21-24. In addition, the Sea Asia Technical Day session on April 22 will discuss emissions and ballast water management.
This article is contributed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). MPA will host the fourth edition of the Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) from April 18-24. Singapore's iconic maritime event, SMW gathers the international maritime community in Singapore for conferences, exhibitions, forums and business networking events. Industry leaders and eminent researchers will share insights, discuss and impart knowledge on topical maritime issues