Maritime Fact #1
The first public port licence was issued to PSA Corporation in 1997, followed by Jurong Port in 2001.
Maritime Fact #2
ingapore won the “Best Seaport in Asia” award at the 25th Annual Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards (AFSCA) in 2011 for the 23nd time.
Maritime Fact #3
Bunkering is the process of supplying fuels to ships for their own use, with Singapore as the largest and most important bunkering port in the world.
Maritime Fact #4
In 1826, the East India Company combined Singapore, Penang and Malacca to form the Straits Settlements, subsequently dominating trade on the Straits of Malacca.
Maritime Fact #5
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) was established in 1948 to deal with international maritime matters. Singapore has been a member of IMO since 1966.
Maritime Fact #6
Singapore’s President, S R Nathan, served as Seamen Welfare Officer from 1956 till 1962, helping trouble-stricken sailors and port workers.
Maritime Fact #7
Singapore handled her first container in 1972, paving the way for containerisation till today.
Maritime Fact #8
The world’s largest containership is the Maersk-owned, Emma Maersk, which has a carrying capacity of 11000 containers.
Maritime Fact #9
The first container ship to arrive in Singapore was the M.V. Nihon, which berthed in 1972 at Tanjong Pagar Terminal.
Maritime Fact #10
Bedok Lighthouse is the only lighthouse located on the mainland of Singapore. It is sited on top of a 25-storey block of residential flats.
Maritime Fact #11
Raffles Lighthouse is located on Pulau Satumu, the southernmost offshore island of Singapore.
Maritime Fact #12
Singapore accounts for 70% of the world market share for jack-up oil rigs.
Maritime Fact #13
Singapore accounts for 70% of the world market share for FPSO vessel conversion.
Maritime Fact #14
Singapore accounts for 20% of the world market share for ship repair.
Maritime Fact #15
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 boosted Singapore’s role as a trading and shipping hub. By the turn of the century, it was known as the ‘Liverpool of the East’.
Maritime Fact #16
Every 2 to 3 minutes, a ship arrives at or departs from the Port of Singapore.
Maritime Fact #17
Every day, more than 60,000 containers are loaded or unloaded from more than 60 container vessels.
Maritime Fact #18
The Port of Singapore is the focal point for some 200 shipping lines with links to more than 600 ports in over 120 countries worldwide.
Maritime Fact #19
The Port of Singapore has terminals located at Tanjong Pagar, Keppel, Brani, Pasir Panjang, Sembawang and Jurong. These terminals serve various vessels, including container ships, bulk carriers, ro-ro ships, cargo freighters, coasters and lighters.
Maritime Fact #20
At any one time, there are about 1,000 ships in our port.
Maritime Fact #21
There are 6 Free Trade Zones within Singapore’s port areas, in which goods can be stored free of charge for a limited period and are processed with minimum custom formalities.
Maritime Fact #22
On average, Singapore attracts more than 30 international cruise ships here every year, making about 400 calls here.
Maritime Fact #23
The Jewel of Muscat, a 9th century dhow handmade without nails or screws, completed a five month voyage from Oman to Singapore on 3 July 2010.
Maritime Fact #24
Port and starboard are nautical terms referring respectively to the left and right side of the ship.
Maritime Fact #25
In olden days, seafarers would drop a rope of knots from the back of a ship and measure how many knots were travelled in an hour, thus the term ‘knots per hour’.
Maritime Fact #26
The Pulau Pisang Lighthouse (Banana Lighthouse) was built in 1886 on top of a hill at Pulau Pisang, which is located in the southern Malacca Strait. Pulau Pisang Lighthouse marks the western approach to Singapore.
Maritime Fact #27
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore operates five lighthouses, four of which lie in Singapore waters. The 5 lighthouses are Horsburgh Lighthouse, Raffles Lighthouse, Sultan Shoal Lighthouse, Bedok Lighthouse and Pulau Pisang Lighthouse.
Maritime Fact #28
Bedok Lighthouse was commissioned on 9 August 1978 to coincide with Singapore’s13th National Day.
Maritime Fact #29
The reef fringing Pulau Satumu is home to more than 140 species of hard corals.
Maritime Fact #30
In 2010, Singapore’s bunker sales crossed the 40 million tonnes mark. This amount can fill more than 16,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools!
Maritime Fact #31
MPA’s Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) tracks all vessels passing through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. The VTIS can track up to 5,000 vessels in real time.
Maritime Fact #32
The Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS) is among the top 10 largest registries in the world, with a fleet of about 4,000 vessels.
Maritime Fact #33
Singapore is the first seaport in the world to offer wireless WiMax access.
Maritime Fact #34
There are about 5,000 maritime companies in Singapore that contribute to approximately 7% of the Republic’s GDP employing more than 170,000 people.
Maritime Fact #35
Singapore is the world’s third largest petrochemical refiner and the leader in oil trading in Asia.
Maritime Fact #36
The offshore industry in Singapore serves a worldwide clientele, with Keppel Offshore & Marine and Sembcorp Marine Ltd, being recognised as market leaders.
Maritime Fact #37
Singapore is a major transhipment hub. In 2010, the Port of Singapore handled over 28 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units. You could go round the equator four times if you placed these containers end to end!
Maritime Fact #38
Vessel arrivals in terms of shipping tonnage reached 1.92 billion gross tons in 2010. This is equivalent to the volume of 34 million buses!
Maritime Fact #39
Before the invention of electricity, fire was used as an aid to navigation.
Maritime Fact #40
A beacon is a small fixed visual mark on land or in the water that helps seafarers navigate.
Maritime Fact #41
A buoy is similar to a beacon, but it floats on water instead of being fixes to the seabed.
Maritime Fact #42
A nautical chart is a map of a maritime area or coastal region, usually depicting anchorages and locations of aids to navigation.
Maritime Fact #43
The first nautical chart covering mainland Singapore and the Southern islands was published on 9th May 1975, under the Superintendence of Commander N N Sathaye, Hydrographer.
Maritime Fact #44
The Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) is a computer-based navigation information tool that is interfaced with real time positioning systems to provide vessels with continuous position and navigational safety information.
Maritime Fact #45
A harbour pilot is a mariner who guides large ships through narrow waterways to berth them safely in the port. Their experience and knowledge of local waters are essential to their job.
Maritime Fact #46
Offshore drilling is the discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater.
Maritime Fact #47
Container ships carry most of the world’s manufactured goods and products in truck-sizes intermodal containers, usually through scheduled liner services.
Maritime Fact #48
General Cargo Ships carry packaged items like chemicals, foods, furniture, machinery and motor vehicles.
Maritime Fact #49
Bulk carriers transport raw materials such as iron ore, coal, cement, sand, grain and soybeans. They have large box hatches on deck, which are designed to slide outboard or fold fore-and-aft to enable access for loading or discharging cargo.
Maritime Fact #50
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. These include crude oil, petroleum products and chemicals such as vegetable oils.
Maritime Fact #51
Gas Carriers are similar to tankers, but carry Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in pressurised and liquefied forms.
Maritime Fact #52
Passenger ships range from small ferries to large cruise liners and are meant to carry people for transport, leisure and pleasure.
Maritime Fact #53
Specialist ships are found mainly in the research and offshore oil and gas sectors. They include drill ships, seismic ships, oil-rigs, and anchor handling tugs.
Maritime Fact #54
‘Panamax’ and ‘New Panamax’ are popular terms for the size limits of ships travelling through the Panama Canal.
Maritime Fact #55
‘Suezmax’ is the term for the size limit of ships travelling through the Suez Canal.
Maritime Fact #56
The nautical star is a five pointed star, referring to the North Star, or Polaris located in the Northern hemisphere. Before electronic equipment, stars served as one of the only ways for seafarers to navigate the sea at night.
Maritime Fact #57
In the olden days, seafarers would tattoo a pig on their left knee and a rooster on their right foot to signify: “Pig on the knee, safety at sea. A cock on the right, never lose a fight.”
Maritime Fact #58
Hydrography is the measurement, description and mapping of the surface waters of the Earth, which aid in the safe navigation of vessels.
Maritime Fact #59
The top of a ship is known as ‘monkey island’. This is where the radio and navigational equipment are housed.
Maritime Fact #60
The bridge of a ship is an area from which the ship is commanded and it is manned by an Officer of the Watch.
Maritime Fact #61
The bow refers to the forward part of the hull of the ship, designed to reduce resistance by cutting through water but tall enough to prevent being washed over easily.
Maritime Fact #62
The stern is the rear end of a ship and it is distinguished by a white navigational light at night.
Maritime Fact #63
Historians discovered that Singapore functioned as a significant “Port of trade” as early as the 14th and 15th centuries, serving a trading zone that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the South China Sea.
Maritime Fact #64
Singapore’s first jack-up rig, JW McLean, was completed in 1969 by Far East Shipbuilding.
Maritime Fact #65
A ‘tongkang’ is a type of light wooden boat used commonly in the early 19th century to carry goods along the rivers and narrow channels of Singapore. It is designed to sit on the river bed without tilting over during low tides.
Maritime Fact #66
A ‘twakow’ is a small lighter that was used to transport cargo from large ships on the anchorages to warehouses along the Singapore and Kallang rivers.
Maritime Fact #67
Clarke Quay is named after Sir Andrew Clarke, Singapore's second governor. It used to be Singapore’s commercial centre in the 19th century, where an unending stream of lighters transported their goods upriver to warehouses.
Maritime Fact #68
Today’s world fleet is made up of over 50,000 ships registered in over 150 nations and manned by over a million seafarers of virtually every nationality.
Maritime Fact #69
Shipping remains the most economical and environmentally-friendly mode of transportation in the world.
Maritime Fact #70
The infamous Titanic disaster of 1912 spawned the first Safety of Life at Sea - or SOLAS Convention. Today, it is still the most important international instrument addressing maritime safety.
Maritime Fact #71
When ships reach the end of their working lives, they are usually recycled. Many electronic components and much of the steel are dismantled and reused in new ships and other products.
Maritime Fact #72
Shipping is one of the most international industries in the world with the ownership, management and operation of a vessel involving many different countries.
Maritime Fact #73
The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean through Panama via a series of locks and gates that lifts and lowers ships.
Maritime Fact #74
The Suez Canal is an artificial waterway that connects the Mediterranean and Red Sea. It provides greater connection between Asia and Europe.
Maritime Fact #75
London is one of the most important ports in Europe. As the heart of the British Empire, the great Thames River was the focal point of all things maritime in Europe in the past.