Singapore has clinched the top spot in Menon’s Leading Maritime Capitals of the World Report (Menon Report) for 2017, and the country is projected to remain well-positioned for the maritime industry up to 2022 and beyond.
This is the third edition of the maritime report where Singapore was also ranked first in 2015 and 2012.
The latest Menon Report, developed by Norwegian consultancy firm Menon Economics, was launched at the Singapore Maritime Week 2017 with the results announced at Sea Asia conference held on Wednesday in Singapore.
Singapore was ranked number one in three categories – Shipping, Ports and Logistics, and Attractiveness and Competitiveness.
The republic also scored good results in the remaining two categories – second place in Maritime Technology and fourth place in Finance and Law.
The cities behind Singapore’s number one position are Hamburg in second spot, Oslo in third, and Shanghai and London taking fourth and fifth spots respectively.
The Menon Report is a widely-accepted study of the world’s leading maritime capitals, by looking at 24 objective indicators and garnering survey responses from more than 250 industry experts across all continents.
Andrew Tan, chief executive of Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), said: “We are deeply honoured yet humbled by this recognition from the international maritime industry. This will spur us to work harder to make Maritime Singapore the global maritime hub of choice. We are truly grateful to all our partners and stakeholders for walking with us every step of the way.”
The Menon Report noted that Singapore was able to maintain its reputation as a world leading maritime hub due to the width of the city-state’s maritime industry.
In the sectors of Shipping, and Ports and Logistics, the littoral state emerged first due to its strategic geographic location, as well as its position as an important centre for commercial management and the world’s second largest port, the report mentioned.
Singapore ranked top in overall Attractiveness and Competitiveness due to the ease of doing business and customs procedures. According to the report, seven in 10 experts regarded Singapore as one of the three most attractive cities in the world for relocating their headquarters and also identified it as one of the Maritime Capitals most prepared and ready to adopt digitalisation.
At the Sea Asia conference presentation, Erik Jakobsen, partner and chairman of the board, Menon Economics, said: “We believe that the most important element (for Singapore’s success) is the long term consistent political strategy (…) and the strong cooperation between the government and the industry.”
Additionally, in making predictions about the world’s leading maritime capitals five years ahead, the majority of industry experts surveyed shared a consensus that Singapore will remain the most important city, with many believing that the country has strong capabilities to handle digital transformation in the maritime industry.
To ensure that Singapore remains a leading maritime hub, MPA said it is driving the Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM) with industry stakeholders, to drive innovation and productivity, and equip the local maritime workforce with necessary skills to take on higher value-added jobs of the future.
Singapore is one of the world’s busiest ports with vessel arrival tonnage increasing by 6.3% to 2.66bn gt in 2016. Last year Singapore is the world’s second busiest container port with throughput recorded at 30.9m teu, and the world’s largest bunkering port with sales reaching 48.6m metric tonnes.
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