THE MARITIME and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has revealed its 2024 maritime and port performance figures, singalling strong growth for the nation’s marine industry.

Singapore’s annual vessel arrival tonnage, total tonnage of ships under the Singapore flag, container throughput, total bunker sales, and sales of alternative bunker fuels all reached new highs in 2024, the port authority revealed.

The MPA confirmed the annual vessel arrival tonnage in the port of Singapore grew by 0.6%, reaching a new record of 3.11 billion gross tonnage (GT), up from 3.09 billion GT in 2023.

Cargo throughput handled at the port of Singapore also rose to 622.67 million tonnes, an increase of 5.2% from 592.01 million tonnes in 2023.

Container throughput from both PSA terminals and Jurong Port crossed the 40 million TEU mark for the first time, growing by 5.4% and reaching a new record of 41.12 million TEUs compared to 39.0 million TEUs in 2023.

Approximately 90% of Singapore’s container throughput is for transshipment to other destinations. Singapore remains the largest container transshipment hub in the world.

The MPA confirmed 11 berths at the new Tuas Port are now operational, with 7 more berths expected to be operational by 2027.

Reclamation works in Phase 2 of Tuas Port are about 75% completed. A Joint Venture partnership between Evergreen Marine Corporation (EMC) and PSA Singapore was established in November last year, offering long-term terminal capacity assurance to EMC’s expanding global vessel fleet in Singapore.

Meanwhile, in the bunker trade sector, total bunker sales registered a new high of 54.9 million tonnes, marking a 6% year-on-year increase.

The MPA said the increased uptake was partly due to the extended Asia-Europe shipping routes via the Cape of Good Hope due to the disruptions in the Red Sea.

The port authority said Singapore made steady progress as the world’s largest bunkering port, supplying over a sixth of the total fuel used by global shipping.

The total tonnage of ships under the Singapore flag exceeded 100 million GT for the first time and reached a new record high of 108 million GT, an increase of 8.5% from 99.6 million GT in 2023. The Singapore Registry of Ships remains one of the world’s top five ship registries, the MPA said.

The MPA also highlighted the year’s developments in green shipping, with 29 Singapore-flagged ships from 12 companies receiving Green Ship Certificates under the Green Ship Programme in 2024.

In March last year, the MPA supported Fortescue which successfully conducted the world’s first use of ammonia-diesel combination as marine fuel, onboard the Singapore-flagged ammonia-powered vessel Fortescue Green Pioneer.

To support the operationalisation of ammonia bunkering, EnterpriseSG and MPA will develop the Singapore standards for ammonia bunkering by 2025.

The lead developer for a low- or zero-carbon ammonia power generation and bunkering solution on Jurong Island under the Request for Proposal launched by MPA and the Energy Market Authority of Singapore is expected to be announced in 2025, the MPA revealed.

The first simultaneous methanol bunkering and cargo operations (SIMOPS) was conducted in May 2024 at the Tuas Port.

The use of the mass flow metering (MFM) system for methanol, together with the use of digital bunkering, was also trialled during the SIMOPS.

The MPA signed two new Green and Digital Shipping Corridors (GDSCs) MoUs with Australia and Shandong, China, adding to the four GDSCs established earlier with the Port of Rotterdam, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in the USA, Tianjin in China, and Japan.

October 2024 saw the Singapore-Rotterdam GDSC successfully completed a pilot for the bunkering of mass-balanced liquefied bio-methane at the Port of Rotterdam. The MPA said a similar trial is planned in Singapore in 2025.