THE MARITIME & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has announced that night movements of line-towed container barges will be allowed to and from the Pasir Panjang Terminal, effective as of yesterday (4 September).
The initiative follows the successful completion of a four month-long trial between the MPA and port operator PSA International, involving six barge operators.
The MPA says the initiative is part of its ongoing efforts to review its rules and regulations to reduce business costs and turnaround time and enhance resource optimisation, while ensuring safety.
Line-towed container barges will now be allowed to conduct movements between 1900 and 0630. Previously, night movement for these barges was only permitted at the Brani and Keppel Terminals, where navigational traffic is less complex than Pasir Panjang, according to the MPA.
The new initiative intends to fully utilise the night window to transport containers on barges in and out of the Port of Singapore and neighbouring ports. Each line-towed barge can carry an average of 300 TEUs.
The MPA believes this measure will improve connectivity with regional ports, as well as enhance port efficiency, reduce the time container and feeder vessels spend at berth, and the need for containers to be transported between land terminals.
To ensure the safe movement of the container barges at night at Panjang, MPA says it will implement additional safety measures that were successfully tested with barge operators and PSA during the trial.
This includes compulsory pilotage for the barges, restrictions on the length of towing lines, and close monitoring of barge movements by MPA’s vessel traffic management system.
The MPA confirmed that barge operators have been briefed on the safety measures and approval process for night movements of line-towed container barges at PPT.
The move comes as the Port of Singapore saw a 6.1 percent increase in containers handled over the first seven months of 2024 when compared to last year, handling a total of 23.82 million twenty-foot equivalent units.
The MPA says the average wait time for container berths at port has been reduced to less than one day as of July this year.
The MPA believes the improvements are due to measured undertaken by MPA and PSA, such as the commissioning new berths at Tuas Port, reactivating berths and yard spaces at Keppel Terminal, increasing manpower capacity, and working with shipping and feeder lines on operation scheduling.
