MARITIME AND SHIPPING
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
Southeast Asia is located along one of
the most important routes in global
shipping. Trade in goods between
China, Africa, the Middle East, and
Europe have to transit through the
Straits of Malacca and the South
China Sea, making the region a
strategic choke point for trade.
As a result, a thriving maritime
service industry is present in
Southeast Asia. In particular,
Singapore is well-known as a maritime
MARITIME INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
Shipping demand is spurred by
economic growth. According to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF),
we should look towards emerging
and developing countries for such
growth. The IMF also points out that
advanced economies’ growth is on
a downward trend and has been so
since the mid-2000s.
Such a development affects every
shipping sector across the globe—in
different ways, naturally. Dry bulk
demand is supported by such a trend,
whereas container shipping will see
demand growth rates come under
hub in the region. Singapore is a
leading centre for ship repair, and its
other key activities include building of
marine vessels and offshore structures,
vessel design and engineering and
marine equipment and services. The
nation has also become a strategic
centre for maritime business. With its
excellent reputation in the maritime
and shipping industry, coupled with
sophisticated port facilities, shipyards
and various services, Singapore
has developed into an international
maritime centre where ships convenefurther pressure. Oil tankers may find
it somewhat bittersweet, as demand
generated in the East may be dented by a
contraction in the West.
In particular, China is further
moving away from being the world’s
factory for goods, towards being a
consumption country. The shift that
started from China to move production
of labour-intensive products years ago
will further accelerate in the future.
Especially labour-intensive products,
such as textiles, apparels, footwear, and
furniture, are the first industries that
will leave China.
To prevent this, many factoriesand also where services in shipping,
commerce and logistics flourish.
Most commercial ships are
registered under a flag that differs from
the flag of the economy of ownership.
Singapore is also a preferred flag
registry for many shipowners due to
its maritime hub status, favourable
admiralty and tax laws, as well as being
a reputable flag that complies with IMO
conventions. More than 127 million dwt
were registered in Singapore in 2018,
making it the fifth largest ship registry
in the world by deadweight tonnage.in China are moving further inland
as Western China continues to offer
cheaper labour compared to China’s
coastal cities. However, being further
inland means more expensive freight
rates and longer transit times, as barges
must be used along with other means of
transportation to connect coastal cities
for mother vessel departures. Southeast
Asia may be the biggest winner of
this switch, as it has very good port
infrastructure, such as deep sea ports
which can now accept larger vessels.
To take advantage of this, the
Maritime and Port Authority of
Singapore (MPA) has drafted fourDeadweight tonnage (often shortened to dwt) is a measure of how much weight a ship can carry, not its
weight, empty or in any degree of load. Dwt is the sum of the weight of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast
water, provisions, passengers, and crew. It does not include the weight of the ship itself. Deadweight tonnage
is a good indication for shipowners and clients of how much revenue the vessel is capable of generating.The twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) is a unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container
ships and container terminals. It is based on the volume of a 20-foot-long (6.1 m) standard-sized container.WHAT IS DEADWEIGHT TONNAGE?
WHAT IS TEU?