Mr Speaker, I declare that I am a Consultant in a law firm which services the maritime and logistics industries.
The motion today calls on this House to affirm the critical importance of strengthening Singapore’s long-term economic competitiveness by leveraging international cooperation, frontier technologies, and world-class infrastructure to reinforce our position as a globally connected aviation, maritime, and logistics hub, and to anchor good jobs in Singapore.
Part I: The Standard of Competitiveness and the Changing Horizon
We are not blessed with natural resources, a massive domestic hinterland, or an expansive geographical footprint. Capitalizing on our geographical position, continuous investments and sustained developmental efforts since independence have allowed us to establish Singapore as both a maritime and an aviation hub.
In 2025, the Singapore port handled 44.66 million TEUs of container throughput, while the bunkering sector supplied over 56 million tonnes of marine fuel [1]. Concurrently, Changi Airport has steadily recovered from the severe travel freezes of the Covid-19 pandemic, returning to high volumes of passenger traffic and airfreight processing [2]. We are now working on Mega-projects such as Tuas Port and Changi Terminal.
But, Mr Speaker, past operational success does not guarantee resilience against future structural changes. The rules of global commerce are shifting. Competition in logistics, aviation, and maritime operations is moving away from purely physical throughput toward the ownership of the software, data systems, and digital platforms that orchestrate these global movements. For example, value is rapidly shifting to the owners of global vessel-tracking networks and automated AI logistics platforms, rather than the physical ports they connect.
As we debate this motion on preserving our long-term competitiveness, we must continue to evaluate the structural vulnerabilities underlying our transport hub status. We must actively fight to defend our share of the high-value supply chain, ensuring that these digital and analytical segments remain anchored in Singapore rather than losing ground to rival digital hubs. If we focus solely on physical asset efficiency, we risk watching the true value of the global supply chain migrate to digital capitals elsewhere.
Part II: The Geopolitical Crucible: Regional Disputes and Hub Resilience
Our long-term economic competitiveness cannot be divorced from our immediate geopolitical resilience. The past half-year has thrown our trade dependencies into sharp relief. The severe escalation in the Middle East, following the outbreak of hostilities between the United States and Iran in late February 2026, has severely disrupted shipping and energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz and shattered hopes of global supply chain normalization. The crisis has once again demonstrated how quickly geopolitical shocks can reverberate through international trade networks and affect interconnected economies like Singapore.
For the first time in recent memory, global maritime and aviation corridors have faced simultaneous closures. We must look closely at how these multi-modal disruptions have impacted Singapore over the past six months to extract vital lessons for our future survival.
1. The Maritime Hub: Energy Shocks and Equipment Contagion
The closure of Hormuz has sent severe shockwaves through our maritime transshipment and bunkering operations. First, the immediate halt of outbound crude oil and LNG from the Persian Gulf triggered an unprecedented global energy price shock. This inflated fuel costs rapidly, introducing extreme price volatility that severely squeezed carrier margins.
Second, although primary East-West container shipping routes do not depend directly on the Persian Gulf, the conflict has nevertheless created significant knock-on effects across global logistics networks. Thousands of containers became stranded within affected regional supply chains, reducing equipment availability and disrupting normal cargo flows. As carriers rapidly reshuffled schedules, redeployed vessels, and adjusted service networks, major transshipment hubs faced the challenge of accommodating irregular arrival patterns and maintaining operational reliability amid heightened uncertainty.
According to the Ministry of Transport, this capacity crunch led to severe vessel "bunching" at the Port of Singapore, as container lines rapidly reshuffled schedules, omitted regional Middle Eastern port calls entirely, and arrived at our berths in unpredictable, highly concentrated clusters [3].
Finally, the crisis has proven that neutral flags are no longer safe. Commercial vessels navigating adjacent routes have faced direct kinetic threats from drone strikes, alongside sophisticated cyber threats like satellite spoofing and GNSS jamming, driving global maritime insurance premiums to punitive highs. This included a Singapore registered ship, the Ever Lovely, on 25 June 2026 [4].
The lesson for Singapore is clear. The MPA can accelerate strategies to anchor alternative multi-modal trade corridors and aggressively diversify our bunkering and energy supply networks away from traditional geopolitical chokepoints. PSA can continually expand its dynamic yard-capacity planning and utilize predictive AI tools to act as a reliable shock absorber when global schedules collapse.
2. The Air Hub: Space Constraints and the Rerouting Penalty
Parallel to the maritime shocks, extensive airspace restrictions across parts of the Middle East have fundamentally reconfigured international aviation. The disruption has affected airline scheduling, fleet deployment, and the operational efficiency of several major aviation hubs like Dubai and Doha.
The episode has also demonstrated the value of maintaining a resilient and globally connected aviation hub. As airlines adjusted flight paths and network strategies to navigate operational uncertainties, Changi Airport and Singapore Airlines were well positioned to capture traffic opportunities arising from disruptions elsewhere [5]. This reinforces the importance of operational flexibility, and strong airline partnerships so that Singapore remains capable of responding rapidly when competing aviation corridors face disruptions [5].
However, these traffic flows come with operational challenges. Longer routing patterns around affected airspaces increase flight times, fuel consumption, operating costs, and carbon emissions. While the Government's decision to postpone the implementation of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) levy to January 2027 provides airlines with greater flexibility in navigating a volatile operating environment, Singapore must continue balancing sustainability objectives with the need to preserve Changi's competitiveness as a global aviation hub. To strengthen our air hub during periods of crisis, Changi Airport Group (CAG) or MOT can consider targeted support measures to help carriers manage exceptional operational disruptions, while Singapore Airlines (SIA) can continue maintaining the fleet flexibility necessary to redeploy capacity rapidly across regions as circumstances evolve.
For the rest of my speech, I will be concentrating on certain issues affecting our maritime and logistic hubs.
Part III: The Strategic Vulnerability: The "Adopter vs. Creator" Gap
While handling geopolitical crises requires tactical agility, solving our core structural bottleneck requires a profound policy shift across our maritime, and logistics sectors.
We are world-class technology adopters. When overseas firms develop advanced cargo hardware or automated systems, Singapore is among the first to integrate and run them efficiently. Our firms excel at deploying capital to operationalize foreign innovations. For instance, while Tuas Port leads the world in automated fleet scale, its heavy autonomous vehicles and high-power charging architectures are built on large-scale procurements from foreign engineering giants like Siasun and ABB [6].
But let us ask an uncomfortable question: Who owns the core software systems?
The stark reality is that many local ship managers, airlines, freight forwarders, and logistics operators continue to rely heavily on foreign-developed software platforms for critical operational functions, including:
- Emissions monitoring and regulatory compliance. Operators rely on European systems like Norway's Kongsberg; The management layer is dominated by Western or North Asian tech conglomerates.
- Voyage planning and fleet optimisation. The industry defaults to platforms like America's Veson Nautical.
- Vessel and asset management; and
- Supply chain visibility and cargo tracking. The management layer is dominated by Western or North Asian tech conglomerates.
Across much of the global transport sector, the highest-value software architectures, data platforms, and proprietary algorithms remain concentrated in major technology centres outside Singapore.
In the modern digital economy, physical assets are increasingly becoming commoditised. High-margin value flows to those who own the digital platforms, capture data pipelines, and control proprietary algorithms. If Singapore remains content with being merely an exceptional adopter of foreign technology, we risk becoming a low margin highway. The intellectual property and high-value decision-making will increasingly sit elsewhere such as Silicon Valley, Oslo or Shanghai.
Part IV: Confronting Legacy Models and Fragmented Data
To bridge this gap, we must examine our underlying operations. Singapore hosts over 200 international shipping groups and thousands of logistics firms, yet day-to-day workflows remain legacy and relationship-driven.
For many businesses including our SMEs or other companies operating and managing ships from Singapore, when a critical machinery anomaly or cargo delay occurs at sea, the current process is still highly manual. The crew logs the issue via email or vessel’s planned maintenance system portal, and shore coordinators rely on disconnected spreadsheets or personal networks to source spare parts and reroute assets. This manual approach persists in many local companies even though modern ships generate a vast sea of real-time telemetry sensor data every second.
Our national research ecosystem, including agencies such as A*STAR, can support SMEs in developing and adopting AI-driven predictive maintenance capabilities that analyse real-time operational telemetry to identify abnormal equipment behaviour before failures occur. Such systems could support more efficient spare-parts planning, minimise unplanned downtime, and strengthen operational reliability. Over time, more intelligent inventory management may also reduce the need for vessels to carry excessive onboard spare-part inventories while maintaining safety and resilience.
Part V: Re-Evaluating Our Innovation and Funding Frameworks
The Government has poured significant resources into these sectors through the Maritime Innovation and Technology (MINT) Fund [7]. Successive Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) have pushed for foundational digital standards, sustainable fuel testbeds, and basic automated systems [8].
However, our funding philosophies remain too cautious, incremental, and focused on short-term software adoption. While existing support schemes have played an important role in accelerating technology adoption and digitalisation across the sector, a significant proportion of industry expenditure continues to flow toward commercially available solutions developed overseas. Although these technologies can deliver immediate productivity gains, they do not necessarily build Singapore-owned intellectual property or create globally exportable platforms. In many cases, we become successful users of technologies whose long-term economic value ultimately accrues elsewhere.
To anchor true, long-term competitiveness, our funding models can also make a bold shift from subsidizing technology adoption to financing proprietary creation.
Part VI: Three Strategic Proposals for Technological Leadership
To actively transform Singapore from a world-class transport operator into a global transport architect, I have three suggestions:
1. Shift Innovation Funding to "Deep-Tech Sovereign IP"
We can consider allocating dedicated tranches within the MINT Fund specifically towards the development of exportable Singapore-owned intellectual property, alongside existing technology-adoption initiatives [9]. These programmes can provide deeper co-investment support to consortia comprising local universities, startups, research institutes, and transport operators working to develop bigger, globally competitive platforms.
We must try to fund home-grown, AI-driven global fleet analytics and end-to-end multi-modal routing architectures coded and owned here. When international retailers look for global supply chain software, they should buy Singapore made platforms, ensuring licensing revenues flow back into our economy.
2. Mandate Shared Data Standards via a "National Transport Data Trust"
The greatest barrier to developing world-class transport AI is extreme data fragmentation. Every operator guards operational data carefully, often for legitimate commercial reasons, but this limits the ability of researchers and innovators to train powerful predictive models. Singapore successfully demonstrated how trusted data-sharing can work through the Singapore Trade Data Exchange, or SGTraDex [10]. We should therefore explore establishing a National Transport Data Trust—a secure, state-backed framework that enables participating operators to share anonymised operational data through common standards while safeguarding commercial sensitivities. Such a clean repository will hopefully attract top global AI talent.
3. Broaden Global Talent Rotation to Tech-Native Tracks
I welcome the recent Maritime Cluster Fund – Global Rotation (MCF-GR) scheme, which co-funds the overseas deployment of local middle managers to build international leadership depth [11]. This excellent initiative should expand across our logistics pillars, but we must ensure these rotation programs include our tech-native talent [13]. We should intentionally allocate global rotation lines to local software engineers and data scientists from our transport agencies, deploying them to global tech hubs like Rotterdam or Silicon Valley. This will cultivate a specialized hybrid workforce that understands both deep code and ship operations.
Part VII: Jobs: The Central Objective and the Local Talent Deficit
This extensive focus on platform architecture is fundamentally about safeguarding and upgrading high-quality jobs for Singaporeans. Yet, Singapore continues to face challenges in maintaining a sufficiently deep pipeline of Singaporean maritime professionals, particularly in specialised seafaring, engineering, and operational roles that underpin our status as a global maritime hub [12].
For over two decades, the supply of local Singaporean mariners has faced structural pressures as fewer young Singaporeans choose seafaring careers. This creates a long-term challenge. It is difficult to design world-class shipmanagement platforms, train advanced maritime AI systems, or lead global maritime enterprises without professionals who possess deep practical experience at sea.
Equally, following the sale of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), Singapore no longer has a national shipping line of the scale and strategic significance that NOL once represented. NOL was more than a commercial carrier. For generations of Singaporean deck officers and marine engineers, it provided a structured pathway to accumulate sea-going experience, rise through the ranks, and ultimately assume command responsibilities.
The impact was not felt only at sea. Many former NOL officers later transitioned into shore-based roles across ship management, maritime services, logistics, port operations, maritime law and shipping finance. The company served as an important talent pipeline for the wider maritime ecosystem, including public sector institutions and industry leadership positions. My colleague, the honourable MP Kenneth Tiong will be speaking more on this.
Maritime hubs are ultimately built on people and expertise. Ports, vessels and technology can be acquired, but deep operational knowledge takes decades to cultivate. We therefore need to ensure that Singapore continues to provide sufficient opportunities for our mariners to gain practical sea-going experience and develop into the future leaders of our maritime sector. Otherwise, we may one day find ourselves facing the uncomfortable prospect of having to look overseas even for some of the most critical leadership positions within our maritime ecosystem, such as our port master, marine superintendents, maritime regulators, and industry leaders, even our port masters.
Mr Speaker, our national strategy must follow a clear, multi-tiered approach.
First, the Government must aggressively support and further build operational and seafaring careers among Singaporeans to feed our critical onshore management roles. I call on the Ministry of Transport and the MPA to significantly enhance our existing frameworks, such as the Tripartite Maritime Training Award (TMTA) [13]. We must boost retention incentives, enhance mid-career conversion pathways, and work with international firms to improve shipboard working conditions and mental health support, making these foundational tracks attractive to our youth.
Simultaneously, deploying frontier technology must be our second strategy. Deep maritime technology is not about replacing our people; it should be about scaling them. By building advanced automated systems such as remote-fleet management systems and predictive maintenance systems and operating from Singapore, we can better enable our local workforce to leverage their irreplaceable operational expertise from onshore command centres in Singapore. By combining practical experience with advanced analytics, we can transform traditional operational careers into highly productive, technology-enabled professions, ensuring that the high-value decision-making and better-paying jobs remain in Singapore.
In conclusion:
Mr Speaker, Singapore has never won by competing on physical size or sheer volume. We win by moving ahead of the curve. Today, the challenge is to master the digital and algorithmic architecture that commands our physical assets like our ports and vessels. We must move decisively from an efficient technology adopter to an aggressive platform creator, from operational excellence to global technological leadership. By capturing sovereign IP, breaking data silos, and building a tech-augmented local workforce, we can reinforce Singapore’s position as the indispensable heart of maritime and logistics for generations to come.
Thank you.
Endnotes
[1] Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Singapore Posts Record Port Performance in 2025 and Develops Future Readiness Through Industry Collaborations for 2026, 13 January 2026. Confirms Singapore achieved 44.66 million TEUs of container throughput and 56.77 million tonnes of marine fuel sales in 2025.
[2] Changi Airport Group (CAG), Operational Statistics and Changi East / Terminal 5 Updates (2025–2026); Ministry of Transport statements on Changi Airport passenger traffic recovery in 2025. Reflects recovery of passenger and cargo volumes beyond pre-pandemic benchmarks and ongoing development of Terminal 5.
[3] Jeffrey Siow, Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance, Ministerial Statement on the Impact of the Middle East Situation on Singapore, Singapore Parliamentary Debates, Official Report, 7 April 2026.
[4] The Straits Times on 26 June 2026. Report concerning the Singapore-registered vessel Ever Lovely and maritime security threats arising from the Middle East conflict.
[5] Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Changi Airport Group (CAG), and Ministry of Transport public statements and aviation updates concerning the impact of Middle East airspace disruptions on regional aviation networks during 2026.
[6] Siasun Deploys Nearly 200 Port Mobile Robots at PSA Singapore, Delivers First New-Generation IGVs - CMRA; https://new.abb.com/news/detail/63868/smart-charging-infrastructure-for-singapore-ports-automated-guided-vehicles?utm_source=copilot.com
[7] Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Maritime Innovation and Technology (MINT) Fund Programme Information and Funding Frameworks. (This supports the existence of the MINT Fund in Part V.)
[8] Ministry of Transport (MOT), Industry Transformation Map (ITM) progress reports and sector transformation updates covering logistics, maritime digitalisation, automation, and sustainability initiatives.
[9] Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Maritime Innovation and Technology (MINT) Fund Administrative Guidelines; Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) publications on innovation commercialisation and intellectual property generation. (This now supports the proposal to shift towards sovereign IP creation.)
[10] Singapore Trade Data Exchange (SGTraDex), public documentation and governance framework describing Singapore's public-private trusted data-sharing ecosystem for supply chain and trade data.
[11] Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Strengthening Maritime Competitiveness and Operational Excellence, 4 March 2026. Introduced the Maritime Cluster Fund – Global Rotation (MCF-GR) scheme.
[12] BIMCO/ICS Seafarer Workforce Reports; Maritime Singapore workforce development reports; industry manpower studies highlighting challenges in attracting and retaining maritime professionals and seafarers.
[13] Tripartite Maritime Training Award (TMTA), Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore programme materials and workforce development initiatives supporting Singaporeans entering deck officer and marine engineering careers.
