Singapore targets crew safety in ammonia, methanol fuel push

It outlined three safety priorities, including responsible technology adoption.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) launched several maritime safety initiatives on ammonia bunkering, methanol bunkering and crew safety awareness.

Senior Minister of State for Law and Transport Murali Pillai outlined three safety priorities, including responsible technology adoption, early preparation for emerging risks, and keeping people central to safety planning.

The National Maritime Safety at Sea Council and the Singapore Shipping Association launched the Singapore Near Miss Reporting System, a confidential online channel for reporting near-miss incidents at sea.

Modelled on the UK-based Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme (CHIRP), founded in 1982, the system routes submissions through CHIRP, which anonymises the data before the Council distils safety lessons for the wider industry.

MPA also operationalised its Integrated Port Operations Command, Control and Communications (IPOC) system, developed with the Defence Science and Technology Agency and ST Engineering.

The system aggregates live data from multiple sources into map-based tools, giving MPA officers a real-time view of port operations to coordinate responses and identify risks in Singapore's port waters.

On autonomous shipping, MPA signed a memorandum of understanding with Ocean Infinity to test, evaluate and validate trials of autonomous and remote marine operations in Singapore port waters.

Ocean Infinity will contribute operational insights from its autonomous operations experience whilst MPA will help design and assess the trials, with both parties also pursuing joint capability development and research.