The Port of Singapore’s container traffic grew by 8.7% in 2018, according to a statement from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
In 2018 the port saw its container throughput hit 36.6 million TEUs in the calendar year, an increase from 33.7 million TEUs it carried in 2017.
Furthermore, the port’s traffic has increased by six million in two years. In the same time period, its cargo throughput has increased by more than 37 million tonnes.
All this has meant the port has continued to be an invaluable part of the Singaporean economy – the maritime sector accounted for 7% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018.
The results follow a series of initiatives that look to improve Singapore’s position as a hub for world trade and logistics.
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In November 2018 COSCO and PSA signed an agreement to expand the COSCO-PSA Terminal to handle five million TEU every year.
Furthermore, it has also deepened its relationship with China and signed a series of agreements to improve the flow of trade through Asia, such as the International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC), which improved the already existing Southern Transport Corridor (STC).
However, in the same month, Singapore announced that it will ban the use of open-loop scrubbers in readiness for the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) regulations on sulfur emissions, a move which sparked warnings that cost it its place as the world’s premier bunkering hub.
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