The Port of Singapore refers to the collective facilities and

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devi ...

s that conduct maritime trade and handles

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

's harbours and shipping. It has been ranked as the top maritime capital of the world since 2015. Currently the world's second-busiest port in terms of total shipping tonnage, it also transships a third of the world's shipping containers, half of the world's annual supply of

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

, and is the world's busiest transshipment port. It had also been the busiest port in terms of total cargo tonnage handled until 2005 when it was surpassed by the

Port of Shanghai The Port of Shanghai (), located in the vicinity of Shanghai, comprises a deep-sea port and a river port. The main port enterprise in Shanghai, the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), was established during the reconstitution of the S ...

. Because of its strategic location, Singapore has been a significant entrepôt and

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

for at least two centuries. During the contemporary era, its ports have not become just a mere economic boon for the country, but an economic necessity making up for Singapore's land and

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...

limitations. Its ports are critical for importing natural resources, and then later re-exporting products after they have been domestically refined and shaped in some manner, for example wafer fabrication or

oil refining An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefi ...

to generate value added revenue. The Port of Singapore is also the world's largest

bunkering Bunkering is the supplying of fuel for use by ships (such fuel is referred to as bunker), including the logistics of loading and distributing the fuel among available shipboard tanks. A person dealing in trade of bunker (fuel) is called a bu ...

port. The majority of ships that pass between the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

and the Pacific Ocean go through the Singapore Strait. Singapore is constructing the Tuas Mega Port to replace the current port at Keppel, with completion expected between 2025 and 2027. Built in four phases, it will be the world's largest container terminal when complete, and will be able to handle nearly 65 million TEUs annually. It will also have the infrastructure to cater to the largest container ships in the world, such as the Evergreen's A-class vessels and the ones by HMM and Maersk. The first phase with three berths opened in September 2022.

History

Before 1819

Map of Singapura by Godinho de Erédia 1604

In the late 13th century, a Kingdom known as Singapura was established on the north bank of the Singapore River around what was called the Old Harbour. It was the only port in the southern part of the Strait of Malacca and serviced ships and traders in the region, competing with other ports along the coast of the Malacca Strait such as Jambi, Kota Cina, Lambri, Semudra,

Palembang Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...

, South Kedah and Tamiang. The port had two functions. First, it made available products that were in demand by international markets; according to the '' Daoyi Zhilüe'' (''Brief Annals of Foreign Islands'', 1349) by Chinese trader

Wang Dayuan Wang Dayuan (, fl. 1311–1350), courtesy name Huanzhang (), was a Chinese traveller of the Yuan dynasty from Quanzhou in the 14th century. He is known for his two major ship voyages. Wang Dayuan was born around 1311 at Hongzhou (present-day Na ...

(born 1311, ''

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

'' 1328–1339), these included top-quality hornbill casques, lakawood and cotton. Although these goods were also available from other Southeast Asian ports, those from Singapore were unique in terms of their quality. Secondly, Singapore acted as a gateway into the regional and international economic system for its immediate region. South Johor and the

Riau Archipelago The Riau Archipelago is a ''geographic'' term (as opposed to administrative region) for the core group of islands within the Riau Islands Province in Indonesia, and located south of Singapore and east of Riau on Sumatra. Before the province of ...

supplied products to Singapore for export elsewhere, while Singapore was the main source of foreign products to the region. Archaeological artefacts such as ceramics and glassware found in the Riau Archipelago evidence this. In addition, cotton was transshipped from Java or India through Singapore.. In 1984, an archaeological excavation had commenced at Fort Canning Hill led by the archaeologist Dr

John Miksic John Norman Miksic (born 29 October 1946) is an American-born archaeologist. Biography John Norman Miksic was born in Rochester, New York on 29 October 1946. His interest in archaeology began at an early age and inspired his future career as a his ...

. A range of artefacts including earthenware, ceramic, and porcelain pieces were found which suggests Singapore's role as an active trading port in the 14th century. By the 15th century, Singapore had declined as an international trading port due to the ascendance of the Malacca Sultanate. Local trade continued on the island. A map of Singapore by Portuguese mathematician

Manuel Godinho de Eredia Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

showed the location of ''Xabandaria'' or the office of a ''

shahbandar S̲h̲āhbandar ( fa, شه‌بندر, , Harbourmaster), was an official of the ports in Safavid Persia and one also known on other shores of the Indian Ocean. The Shahbandar (Port Master) was in charge of the traders and the collection of taxes. ...

'', the Malay official responsible for international trade. Shards of 15th-century

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

ceramics and late 16th – or early 17th-century Chinese blue and white porcelain have been found at the Singapore and

Kallang River The Kallang River (, ms, Sungei Kallang) is the longest river in Singapore, flowing for 10 kilometers. from the Lower Peirce Reservoir (originally named "Kallang River Reservoir") to the Kallang Basin. It originates in the plannin ...

s. Singapore also provided other regional ports with local products demanded by international markets. For instance, blackwood (a generic term used by

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (20 ...

to refer to rosewood) was exported from Singapore to

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has bee ...

, and was in turn purchased by Chinese traders and shipped to China for furniture-making:) In the early 17th century, Singapore's main settlement and its port were destroyed by a punitive force from

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a ...

. After this incident, there was no significant settlement or port at Singapore until 1819.

1819–1960

In 1819, Stamford Raffles, a British colonial official, excited by the deep and sheltered waters in

Keppel Harbour Keppel Harbour (; ms, Pelabuhan Keppel), also called the Keppel Channel and formerly New Harbour, is a stretch of water in Singapore between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani and Sentosa (formerly Pulau Blakang Mati). Its nat ...

, established for the British Empire a new settlement and international port on the island or a trading port. Keen to attract Asian and European traders to the new port, Raffles directed that land along the banks of the Singapore River, particularly the south bank, be reclaimed where necessary and allocated to Chinese and English country traders to encourage them to establish a stake in the port-settlement. Chinese traders, because of their frequent commercial interactions with Southeast Asian traders throughout the year, set up their trading houses along the lower reaches of the river, while English country traders, who depended on the annual arrival of trade from India, set up warehouses along the upper reaches. The port relied on three main networks of trade that existed in Southeast Asia at that time: the Chinese network, which linked Southeast Asia with the southern Chinese ports of

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

and

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

; the Southeast Asian network, which linked the islands of the

Indonesian archipelago The islands of Indonesia, also known as the Indonesian Archipelago ( id, Kepulauan Indonesia) or Nusantara, may refer either to the islands comprising the country of Indonesia or to the geographical groups which include its islands. History ...

; and the European and Indian Ocean network, which linked Singapore to the markets of Europe and the Indian Ocean littoral. These networks were complementary, and positioned Singapore as the transshipment point of regional and international trade. By the 1830s, Singapore had overtaken Batavia (now

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

) as the centre of the Chinese junk trade, and also become the centre of English country trade, in Southeast Asia. This was because Southeast Asian traders preferred the free port of Singapore to other major regional ports which had cumbersome restrictions. Singapore had also supplanted

Tanjung Pinang Tanjungpinang, also written as Tanjung Pinang, is the capital city of the Indonesian province of Riau Islands. It covers a land area of 144.56 km2, mainly on the southern Bintan Island, as well as other smaller islands such as Dompak Islan ...

as the export gateway for the gambier and pepper industry of the

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accordi ...

– Lingga Archipelago by the 1830s, and South Johor by the 1840s. It had also become the centre of the Teochew trade in marine produce and rice. As the volume of its maritime trade increased in the 19th century, Singapore became a key port of call for

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...

and steam vessels in their passage along Asian sea routes. From the 1840s, Singapore became an important

coaling station Fuelling stations, also known as coaling stations, are repositories of fuel (initially coal and later oil) that have been located to service commercial and naval vessels. Today, the term "coaling station" can also refer to coal storage and feedi ...

for steam shipping networks that were beginning to form. Towards the late 19th century, Singapore became a

staple port The staple right, also translated stacking right or storage right, both from the Dutch ''stapelrecht'', was a medieval right accorded to certain ports, the staple ports. It required merchant barges or ships to unload their goods at the port and to ...

servicing the geographical

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associate ...

of the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The ar ...

. Following the institution of the British Forward Movement, Singapore became the administrative capital of

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. ...

. Roads and railways were developed to transport primary materials such as crude oil, rubber and tin from the Malay Peninsula to Singapore to be processed into staple products, and then shipped to Britain and other international markets. During the colonial period, this was the most important role of the port of Singapore.

1963–2021

Singapore ceased to be part of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

when it merged with

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

in 1963. Singapore lost its hinterland and was no longer the administrative or economic capital of the Malay Peninsula. The processing in Singapore of raw materials extracted in the Peninsula was drastically reduced due to the absence of a

common market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

between Singapore and the Peninsular states. Since Singapore's full independence in 1965, it has had to compete with other ports in the region to attract shipping and trade at its port. It has done so by developing an export-oriented economy based on value-added manufacturing. It obtains raw or partially manufactured products from regional and global markets and exports value-added products back to these markets through market access agreements such as

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

directives and

free trade agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occ ...

s. By the 1980s, maritime trading activity had ceased in the vicinity of the Singapore River except in the form of passenger transport, as other terminals and harbours took over this role. Keppel Harbour is now home to three

container terminal A container port or container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example train ...

s. Other terminals were built in

Jurong Jurong () is a major geographical region located at the south-westernmost point of the West Region of Singapore. Although mostly vaguely defined, the region's extent roughly covers the planning areas of Jurong East, Jurong West, Boon Lay, a ...

and

Pasir Panjang Pasir Panjang is an area located at the southern part of Queenstown in Singapore. Kent Ridge Park is a topographical feature which runs adjacent to Pasir Panjang. History Pasir Panjang Road, which once hugged the coastline, was laid down a ...

as well as in

Sembawang Sembawang is a planning area and residential town located in the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Jo ...

in the north. Today, the port operations in Singapore are handled by two players:

PSA International PSA International Pte Ltd is a port operator and supply chain company, with flagship operations in Singapore and Antwerp. One of the largest port operators in the world, PSA has terminals across 26 countries, including deepsea, rail and inland f ...

(formerly the Port of Singapore Authority) and

Jurong Port Jurong Port Pte Ltd is a port operator headquartered in Singapore. Jurong Port, which operates the only multi-purpose port in Singapore, handles bulk, break-bulk and containerised cargo. It handled over 40,000 vessel-calls annually in 2019. T ...

, which collectively operate six container terminals and three general-purpose terminals around Singapore. In the 1990s the Port became more well-known and overtook Yokohama, and eventually became the busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage. Singapore is part of the Maritime

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

that runs from the Chinese coast to the southern tip of India, to

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town ...

, from there through the Red Sea via the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popula ...

to the Mediterranean, to the Upper Adriatic region of the northern Italian hub

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

with its rail connections to

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

Since 2022

The Tuas Mega Port is projected to be the only port in Singapore after the PSA city terminals and Pasir Panjang Terminal are closed in 2027 and 2040 respectively, ending an era of port operations in the city area which began in 1819. The Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM) launched by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) aims to grow the industry's value-add by $4.5 billion and create more than 5,000 new jobs by 2025.

Automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

will be a key part of the new port, with over 1,000 battery-powered driverless vehicles and a fleet of almost 1,000 automated yard cranes to be developed for the port. Nelson Quek, PSA Singapore's head of Tuas planning stated that "Tuas, when it's fully developed, is going to be the single largest fully-automated terminal in the world". It will also be able to cater to the demands of the world's largest container ships, with 26 km of deep-water berths. Besides just handling containers, the port will have space set aside for companies to be located, a move that aims to improve the links between port and businesses. It is projected to be twice the size of Ang Mo Kio new town. Operations at Tuas Mega Port began in September 2021, and the port officially opened on September 1, 2022 with three berths in service.

Operations

Aerial panorama of the Singapore Strait and the Pasir Panjang Port Terminal

The port is the

world's busiest port The world's busiest ports include: *List of busiest ports by cargo tonnage *List of countries by container port traffic *List of busiest container ports *List of busiest cruise ports by passengers This is a list of busiest cruise ports by pass ...

in terms of shipping tonnage handled, with 1.15

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...

gross tons (GT) handled in 2005. In terms of cargo tonnage, Singapore is behind Shanghai with 423 million freight tons handled. The port retains its position as the world's busiest hub for

transshipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g ...

traffic in 2005, and is also the world's biggest bunkering hub, with 25 million tonnes sold in the same year. Singapore is ranked first globally in 2005 in terms of

container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

ised traffic, with 23.2 million

Twenty-foot equivalent unit The twenty-foot equivalent unit (abbreviated TEU or teu) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity, often used for container ships and container ports.Rowlett, 2004. It is based on the volume of a intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box whi ...

s (TEUs) handled. High growth in containerised traffic has seen the port overtaking Hong Kong since the first quarter of 2005, and has led the race ever since, with an estimated 19,335 kTEUs handled in the year up to October, compared to 18,640 kTEUs handled in Hong Kong in the same period. A rise in regional traffic consolidating the port's position in Southeast Asia, and increases in transshipment traffic using the strategic East Asia-Europe route via Singapore helped the port to emerge tops at the end of the year, a title it had not held since overtaking Hong Kong once in 1998.

Operators

PSA Singapore's container facilities are as follows: *Container berths: 52 *Quay length: 15,500 m *Area: 600 hectares *Max draft: 16 m *Quay cranes: 190 *Designed capacity: 35,000 kTEU PSA Singapore has 13 berths which are part of the Pasir Panjang Container Terminal's Phase Two which are due for completion by 2009. Phase Three and Four will add another 16 berths and are expected to be completed by 2013. Jurong Port's facilities are as follows: *Berths: 32 *Berth length: 5.6 km *Maximum vessel draft: 15.7 m *Maximum vessel size: *Area: 127 Hectares Free Trade Zone, 28 Hectares non-Free Trade Zone *Warehouse facilities: 178,000 m² PSA Singapore also has a 40-year contract to operate the tax-free

Gwadar Port The Gwadar Port ( ur, ) is situated on the Arabian Sea at Gwadar in Balochistan province of Pakistan and is under the administrative control of the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan and operational control of the China Overseas Port Holding Co ...

on the southwestern coast of Pakistan. Gwadar started operation in March 2008, with 3 multi-purpose berths, a 602-meter quay, and 12.5-meter depth. Another 9 berths are under construction, with a 20-meter depth. In 2015, it was announced that the port would be leased to the Chinese till 2059 and further developed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Terminals

Notes

References

External links

Live Camera to Port of SingaporeOfficial website of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore

*{{cite web, last=Landow, first=George P, title=Singapore Harbor from its Founding to the Present : A Brief Chronology, url=http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/landow/post/singapore/economics/harborchron.html, publisher=Postcolonial Web, access-date=1 September 2007 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070824113210/http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/landow/post/singapore/economics/harborchron.html , archive-date = 24 August 2007
SG Bicentennial: A Port's Story
- a video series about the history of the port of Singapore, produced by PSA Singapore in 2019 to commemorate Singapore's Bicentennial. Ports and harbours of Singapore Shipping in Asia

History

Before 1819

1819–1960

1963–2021

Since 2022

Operations

Operators

Terminals

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

History

Present day

External links