Singapore offers port dues concession for container vessels

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will begin granting an additional 10 percent concession on port dues for container vessels calling the Port of Singapore, effective Jan. 15.    The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will begin granting an additional 10 percent concession on port dues for container vessels calling at the Port of Singapore, if they are carrying out cargo works with a port stay of not more than five days, effective tomorrow, Jan. 15.
   This latest concession will be in place for one year, and will be granted on top of existing port dues concessions such as the Green Port Programme incentives and the 20 percent concession first introduced in 1996, MPA said in a statement.
   In all, these concessions are expected to amount to more than 17 million Singapore dollars (U.S. $11.8 million) in annual savings for container lines, according to the port authority.
   MPA said that both it and terminal operator PSA Corporation Limited (PSA) have proactively worked on a suite of measures to “help the container lines cope with the challenging economic environment.”
   “PSA is working with their customers to enhance vessel productivity at the port and optimize network planning activities such as service deployments and phasing in and out of vessels, with the aim of lowering their operational costs. PSA is also actively engaging container lines which wish to establish a long-term strategic presence in the Port of Singapore.”
   “Port of Singapore put in a mixed performance in 2015, amidst weak global economic conditions and structural changes in the maritime industry,” noted MPA. “Advance estimates show that vessel arrival tonnage grew 5.6 per cent, while Singapore remained the world’s top bunkering port with a 6.5 per cent increase in volume of bunkers sold.
   “Container throughput and cargo throughput, however, contracted by 8.7 and 1.1 per cent respectively,” it added. “This was largely caused by the overall slump in Asia-Europe volumes, compounded by developments such as the rebalancing of volumes across alliances agreements, and an increase in direct sailings due to lower bunker prices.”