Singapore reinforces maritime safety efforts

MPA and IBM Group also signed a MoU on partnership in improving maritime and port operations. (Photo: Vietnamplus)

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has announced the establishment of a National Maritime Safety at Sea Council (NMSSC) to spearhead the drive for maritime safety on a national level and to ensure the sustainability of safety efforts. 

The council’s formation is part of activities within the Safety@Sea Week 2015 that is running from August 17-21.

The NMSSC is chaired by Professor Richard Lim and groups 14 other experts from across the industry with extensive maritime-related experience.

The first priority of the council is to address issues related to navigational safety and raise the level of maritime safety standards.

The council will also endorse safety initiatives by the MPA and working groups to spearhead safety efforts and public campaigns to raise awareness on navigational safety and practices. In the long-term, the council plans to collaborate with other organisations and countries to promote a culture of maritime safety in the region.

On the occasion, the MPA and IBM Group also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on partnership in improving maritime and port operations using analytics-based technologies.

Singapore is one of the busiest seaports in the region and the world, handling an estimated 130,000 vessels each year.

Safety@Sea Week was launched in November 2014 by MPA as part of the Safety@Sea Singapore Campaign, an industry-wide effort to increase awareness of safe practices and inculcate a safety-first culture at sea.

Last year’s incident rate was one of the lowest ever with 0.005 incidents per 1,000 vessel traffic movements, compared to 0.008 in 2013. For the first six months this year, the incident rate has been 0.003 incidents per 1,000 vessel traffic movements.-VNA