Singapore's vessel arrival tonnage hits record high in 2014

Singapore's vessel arrival tonnage hit a record high of 2.37 billion gross tons in 2014, up 1. 9 percent year on year, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said on Friday.

Container ships and tankers were the top contributors, with each accounting for around 30 percent of the total vessel arrival tonnage, according to the advance estimates.

Singapore remained the world's top bunkering port last year. The total volume of bunkers sold in the port of Singapore was 42.4 million tons, slightly lower than the 42.7 million tons in 2013.

Container throughput in 2014 grew by 4 percent year on year to 33.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units, while total cargo tonnage also rose 3.5 percent year-on-year to reach 580.8 million tons.

The total tonnage of ships under the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's register also grew by 11.7 percent year- on-year to 82.2 million gross tonnage.

Singapore is home to more than 130 international shipping groups and a total of 5,000 maritime establishments. The maritime cluster employs more than 170,000 people and contributes about 7 percent of Singapore's gross domestic product.

The government remained committed to growing Singapore's maritime industry as a key driver of the economy, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said, citing the investment in port infrastructure as an example. Endit