The Port of Singapore’s container throughput in 2019 hit an all-time high of 37.2 million TEUs, amidst challenging global economic conditions driven by geopolitical tensions and trade wars.
The port’s container throughput increased 1.6% from the 36.6 million TEUs registered in 2018, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said.
Overall, the port handled a total of 626.2 million tonnes of cargo in 2019, with the vessel arrival tonnage hitting 2.85 billion Gross Tonnage (GT).
The port’s bunkering performance was steady, registering a bunker sale volume of 47.5 million tonnes in 2019. When compared to the figures from the previous two years, the bunker sales were somewhat down as the bunker sale volume stood at 49.8 million tons in 2018 and 50.6 million tons in 2017.
Singapore, one of the biggest bunker ports in the world, is reportedly experiencing heavy queuing at the port as vessels wait in line to bunker compliant fuels now that the IMO 2020 regulation has entered into force.
What will be the impact of the new regulation on the port’s bunkering performance this year remains to be seen.
“The Singapore Registry of Ships continues to rank amongst the top ship registries in the world, reflecting Singapore’s reputation as a quality flag of choice for international ship owners,” the MPA added.
The total tonnage of ships under the Singapore flag reached 97.3 million GT in 2019.