Singapore port facilities to benefit from tech push

SINGAPORE — At port terminals in Singapore, trials are under way to test automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that, if fully implemented, will see the vehicles buzzing through busy terminals carrying containers without the need for drivers.

“This will enhance productivity and operational efficiency,” said Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA). “We’re also looking at the development of the software necessary to integrate these AGVs to our terminals. It’s conceivable that in the not-too-distant future, we will see our terminal operations as automated as possible.”

Mr Tan was speaking to TODAY on the sidelines of the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the MPA and PSA to extend their collaboration under the Port Technology Research and Development Programme (PTRDP).

Launched in 2011, the PTRDP was part of the national push to upgrade productivity in the Republic’s key industries with the use of technology.

With the extension, both the MPA and PSA have pledged to commit another S$15 million each in the next five years, pushing the funding available under the programme to S$50 million.

The AGV trials are part of the initial results from the first phase of the programme, said Mr Tan. “We are also leveraging on data analytics to optimise the terminal planning. These are the aspects (of) the first tranche of funding ... and the second tranche will build upon these achievements.”

These initiatives come as Singapore tries to position its maritime and offshore cluster for future growth despite land and manpower constraints. Besides a greater focus on technology and innovation, the Government has unveiled major infrastructural projects, such as the consolidation of all five container terminals at Tuas over the next decade to provide sufficient capacity for Singapore to meet longer-term demands as a global hub port.

The upgrade of capacity and capabilities will be necessary for Singapore in its ongoing battle to become Asia’s premier maritime hub. Last year, despite a 3.1 per cent on-year increase in the containers handled by port terminals here to 32.24 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the Republic came in second after Shanghai, which handled 33.6 million TEUs.

Against this backdrop, Mr Tan called for Singaporeans to join an industry that has traditionally been key to the nation’s economic prospects.

“We need a pipeline of future talent, which is not something we can build overnight,” he said. “We need more Singaporeans to join this sector. Not only for offshore marine and vessel operations, but also on the shore-based front where we need people for ship-financing, brokerage, chartering and maritime arbitration, as we build up the cluster in Singapore.”

Wong Wei Han