Asia/Pacific News
MPA Launches Safety Campaign
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has announced the launch of a safety awareness campaign for the maritime industry.
"Singapore is the world's busiest port in terms of vessel arrival tonnage, and is located along a vital shipping lane and one of the world's busiest waterways," said Andrew Tan, MPA's chief executive.
"The Safety@Sea Singapore campaign focuses on the human element in marine incidents, we want to safeguard against complacency, raise safety standards, and get everyone in the community to do their part."
At the campaign's launch Thursday, information kits including poster, decals, and guidebooks were distributed.
The campaign will include briefing sessions on best practices, safety video screenings on ferries and at passenger terminals, and a new safety reporting and suggestion framework.
MPA also plans to add more spot checks on vessels for safe practices and maintenance of safety equipment, and it will explore the creation of a National Maritime Safety at Sea Council to continue work on safety issues.
MPA said there have been few major incidents in recent years, despite the increasing sizes of vessels calling at Singapore and the fact that the port sees more than 130,000 vessel calls per year.
Early this year, three collisions caused bunker spills around Singapore, with an investigation finding that the incidents were due to human error.
