Singapore Signs MoU for E-Certs with Denmark and Norway

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday April 24, 2017

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) today announced that, along with the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) and Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA), it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote the adoption of E-Certificates (E-Certs) for the shipping community.

"Through such initiatives as e-certification, Singapore seeks to harness the growing importance of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to prepare the maritime sector for a digital future. We look forward to working with more partners to promote the use of technology in the industry," said Andrew Tan, CEO of MPA.

"The time is ripe for this. I am glad that Denmark, Norway and Singapore have led the way to show the potential of harnessing ICT to improve administrative efficiency while reducing costs for the benefit of the industry."

Under the MoU, the authorities will work for the promotion and use of E-Certs on ships registered under their respective flags, the acceptance of E-Certs for port entry and Port State Control inspections, and the sharing of information and experiences relating to issuance, use, and acceptance of E-Certs.

"The heavy reliance on hardcopy certificates means that stakeholders such as flag administrations, classification societies, seafarers and shipowners, have to incur considerable manpower and financial commitments in the preparation, printing and delivery of these certificates," said MPA.

"In recent years, new technologies and increasing digitalisation have impacted our lives and business operations and the shipping industry is no exception. Converting the hardcopy certificates to E-Certs is part of the digitalisation movement to reduce these administrative burdens in the shipping industry."

The agreement is said to be the first such agreement in the world between the maritime authorities of European nations and an Asian country for the promotion of E-Certs over hard copy documents in the shipping industry.

As Ship & Bunker previously reported, Singapore has already announced plans to phase out paper-based bunker delivery notes in 2018.