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Chairman’s Message

Warmest greetings to friends and partners of the maritime sector.

It is my honour and privilege to be part of the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) family, as the new Chairman of the Board and Governing Council. I wish to thank Mr Wong Weng Sun, who chaired SMI from 1 January 2017 for his many significant contributions in his time at SMI, amongst them, refreshed and launched the Singapore Maritime R&D Roadmap in 2019 which is aligned to the Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map, and overseeing the establishment of the four maritime research centres of excellence (CoEs). On behalf of SMI, I would like to put on record our sincere appreciation for his leadership and guidance.

SMI has been hard at work since its establishment in April 2011, to advance Singapore’s maritime research and development (R&D) and develop new capabilities required to support the needs of the maritime industry. I look forward to working closely with the SMI team and hope my past experiences in academia and research management, as well as steering and implementing Singapore’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) plans, will help strengthen SMI’s efforts as it progresses in its next phase.

Importance of Maritime R&D to Singapore

The maritime sector is one of Singapore’s key industries, as the city state remains one of the world’s busiest and most strategically important maritime hubs. Despite the global supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Port of Singapore remained resilient and served as a one-stop port, with 2.8 billion gross tonnes in vessel arrivals in 2022. Singapore continues to be recognised globally, retaining its position as a top leading maritime city by Menon Economics & DNV’s Leading Maritime Cities of the World study and ranked top shipping centre in the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index.

The global maritime industry today is facing new challenges and demands from digitalisation and decarbonisation. To support the maritime industry, SMI is investing in R&D to develop new solutions and technologies to drive the industry forward.

We have rich and diverse research capabilities residing within our CoEs, the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and national research institutes and we should capitalise on their capabilities to develop effective solutions to address these challenges and optimise the maritime sector.

The accelerated adoption of digital tools in the maritime industry in recent years has led to a rising interest in digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI). SMI has supported AI research programmes with maritime use cases and is collaborating with AI institutions to develop and implement AI applications in the maritime industry. SMI has provided funding to the Institute of High Performance Computing at A*STAR to launch the first phase of the Maritime AI R&D Programme, with a focus on maritime data and AI modelling excellence as well as use cases. We hope more partners in the maritime ecosystem can come onboard to co-develop AI technologies for the industry.

Our CoEs, such as the Centre of Excellence in Modelling and Simulation for Next Generation Ports (C4NGP), Centre of Excellence for Autonomous & Remotely Operated Vessels (CEAOPS) and Centre of Excellence in Maritime Safety (CEMS) are also stepping up their research in digital technologies and solutions to enhance operational efficiencies. C4NGP and CEAOPS’s research expertise in port modelling and simulation and digital twin will contribute towards building the Tuas Mega Port into a fully automated port, and prepare it for autonomous vessel operations in the future. The Advanced Navigation Research Simulator (ANRS) at CEMS, which was officially launched in 2021, combines the use of AI with simulator for training purposes. The ANRS allows researchers to study the human factors of ship crew, enhance seafarer training and assessment and reduce the frequency of incidents caused by human error.

In the area of decarbonisation, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is reviewing the target and strategies to accelerate the pace of maritime decarbonisation. To achieve low and net-zero carbon emissions, the maritime industry needs a better understanding of existing and new technologies, improve energy efficiency, as well as alternative fuels that can help them to accelerate their decarbonisation journey. Research partners in Singapore play an essential role in providing insights into the viable options for our industry to meet the international emission reduction goals in line with science, and also for domestic harbourcraft, our national goal for net-zero emissions by 2050. The Maritime Energy & Sustainable Development (MESD) Centre of Excellence at the Nanyang Technological University, which has recently received a 5-year funding renewal from SMI, will further its research into the feasibility, compatibility and safety of future and alternative fuels, such as ammonia, biofuels, hydrogen, and electrification. Research by MESD, as well as other research institutes including the Energy Studies Institute, Centre for Hydrogen Innovations and the Energy Research Institute @ NTU, will help shipping companies better understand alternative fuel technologies in order to introduce and incorporate future fuels into the overall value-chain.

Robust talent pool to meet future R&D needs

Education and training are critical to achieve our mission of building Singapore as a global maritime knowledge and innovation hub. SMI is committed to support maritime education and training, through funding of maritime programmes at the local IHLs. This is important to meet the manpower needs of the industry, and to provide a pipeline of a pool of quality maritime researchers to help advance the frontiers of our maritime R&D work.

As Singapore’s own talent pool is limited, we need to leverage on global talent and resources to jointly tackle the maritime challenges. SMI will continue to engage and collaborate with other maritime research organisations and tap on established networks for cross-border knowledge exchange, as well as sharing of innovation ideas and resources.

Conclusion

There are many challenges ahead for the maritime industry and to overcome them would require collaborative and collective effort of the entire maritime ecosystem. SMI will continue to serve as a bridge between the research community and the industry, to catalyse partnerships between research performers and industry players. I hope more companies in Singapore will join us on this journey to grow the maritime sector through building new expertise and capabilities.

I look forward to an exciting future for Singapore’s maritime industry and the continual support from all stakeholders to partner SMI in furthering and advancing the transformation of the maritime sector.

Professor Low Teck Seng
SMI Chairman

Simulation & Modelling (SAM)

Awarded on 17 Oct 2014

In addition to being one of the busiest ports in the world, Singapore has also likewise thrived as one of the leading global maritime capitals that is highly driven by knowledge-based services and expertise. With changing demands and complexity of port and shipping activities, there would be a need for better management of complex port and ship systems.

With global trend drivers, such as shipping market volatility, environmental regulations, and energy cost-efficiency, advanced technological solutions would be required to address these concerns through innovation in port infrastructure and ship design. Hydrodynamics, physical modelling, and mathematical modelling are some of the scientific means towards more cost-effective and environmentally friendly operations. There has also been proposed methodology that focuses more on integrated systems-approach over independent components-approach.

An integrated systems strategy would also drive the need to manage sophisticated engineering and technology through risk-based approach for higher reliability and asset lifecycle management to bring cost benefits. This would enable users to complement both business and technical objectives.

Building upon the above technological trend towards a greater need for advanced complex systems, higher end training would also be required to produce competent manpower with the critical domain knowledge and skillsets. Looking beyond the conventional field of training through simulation, research in the human-machine interface through applied human engineering studies of maritime ergonomics would also be applicable to optimise interaction between people and technology for safety and productivity best practices.

As part of Singapore Maritime Institute’s (SMI) efforts to support the maritime industry in Singapore, a research grant amounting to S$5 million has been allocated to promote research through this thematic R&D programme. The Simulation & Modelling (SAM) R&D Programme aims to support projects involving the research and development of innovative technologies, approaches and ideas towards simulation & modelling for maritime applications.

 

Programme Themes

  • Risk Management
  • Human Factor Studies
  • Maritime Training & Operation

Asset Integrity & Risk Management (AIM)

Awarded on 02 Nov 2015

In oil & gas E&P, safe and reliable operations are of paramount importance to the industry. Asset integrity should never be compromised and risk management is critical to ensure lives and marine environment are safeguarded.

With enhanced oil recovery techniques, operators are stretching the existing reserves with assets that are reaching their design service life. These aged assets are often susceptible to failures due to mechanical degradations and harsh offshore environment.

Oil exploration has also inevitably moved into deep-sea as shallower oil wells become depleted. The offshore assets are installed in deeper water and are increasingly inaccessible. The associated cost of asset maintenance increases exponentially for deep-water regions resulting in the need for technological innovations in asset integrity & risk management. Integrity assessment and risk management solutions, anticipation of possible failures of systems and emergency response plans in the event of asset failures would be critical.

The offshore assets covered include offshore structures, subsea and down-hole equipment. The key research objectives are:

a) Identification of safety critical elements (SCEs)
The weakest structural components that are most susceptible to external forces, cyclic loadings and harsh environment known as safety critical elements should be identified.

b) Reduction of reliance on manual inspection
The inaccessible assets in deeper water and harsher environment drive the need for remote and autonomous inspection and maintenance which are increasingly reliant on sensor based technologies.

c) Low hardware overheads
Cost is one of the major considerations when sensors and wireless systems are installed. Such overheads include the cost of manufacturing the sensors and systems, power requirement as well installation compatibility with the existing assets.

d) High reliability systems under harsh environment
The increasingly harsh environment at deeper water with strong waves and currents as well as deeper wells with hostile chemicals and high pressure high temperature (HPHT) pose significant technical challenges. Sensors and systems must survive such environment with high reliability.

 

Programme Themes

  • Software Development
  • Hardware Development & Deployment
  • New Asset Installation
  • System Level Management

Projects awarded (will be updated progressely):

Joint Call for Proposals in Maritime Research between Norway and Singapore (MNS)

Awarded on 21 Mar 2016

Maritime Research between Norway and Singapore (MNS)

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (“MPA”) and the Research Council of Norway (“RCN”) executed a Memorandum of Understanding on 6th March 2000 (“MOU”) relating to joint co-operation in maritime research, development, education and training. The MOU will be extended for its sixth successive three-year term in 2015.
To further enhance this co-operation, and to facilitate the creation of collaborative projects between the research communities in Singapore and Norway, RCN, MPA and Singapore Maritime Institute (“SMI”) have launched a joint call for bilateral funding of research projects in mutually agreed fields. A total of NOK 15 million is available from RCN for Norwegian partners and up to S$3 million is available from SMI for the Singaporean partners.

Research areas covered

The call is in the field of maritime research. The applications in this call must cover one or more of the following topics:
 
Maritime arctic research
  • Operational decision support systems and logistics solutions
  • Emergency preparedness, prevention & response

Maritime navigation safety

  • e-Navigation
  • Vessel Traffic Management
  • Data analytics on traffic pattern and risk
  • Ship-shore communication
  • Internet of things at sea

Ship operation & safety

  • Simulation & Training
  • Human factors studies
  • Unmanned ships
  • Remote Piloting
  • Control Room Systems
  • Hull structural design

Green shipping

  • Green fuels
  • Energy efficiency
  • Ballast water
  • Hull cleaning
  • Optimizing routing and operation
  • Hull and propeller design
  • Energy saving devices
  • LNG Bunkering in Shipping

Ship-port operations

  • Port optimization
  • Smart ports

Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (Amm)

Awarded on 01 Aug 2016

Oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) has inevitably moved into harsher operating environment. While oil price has slumped to a very low level, industry is focusing on technology developments to lower the cost of E&P. The fundamental sciences such as chemistry, physics and materials have attracted more attention than before in seeking innovative and disruptive technologies to enhance operational efficiency and improve reliability.

 

Operations in deeper waters with strong waves and currents pose challenges on structural integrity. Operations in Arctic pose a different set of challenges with extreme low temperature. As industry moves into ultra-deep wells with extreme high pressure and high temperature (HPHT), higher reliability is required in meeting the performance specifications to ensure safe and reliable operations. The underpinning material sciences in different operating regimes are the fundamental challenges to the increasingly harsh E&P environment.

 

Industry is also constantly innovating new materials for offshore applications as well as smart materials which allow more perimeters to be measured for condition monitoring of offshore structures and processes.

 

SMI through its engagements with the industry and academia has identified the following research thrusts and corresponding research focus areas under the grant call.  The materials covered in this grant call should be used in offshore structures, subsea and down-hole equipment with the following key research objectives:

 

  1. New materials development and materials enhancement to meet the operating needs under harsher environment while maintaining cost competitiveness
  2. Smart materials developments which allow condition monitoring and improve operational efficiency in the E&P lifecycle
  3. Testing methodologies developments to improve the accuracy of materials assessment and/or allow in-situ assessment to determine real-life residual life and fatigue conditions
  4. Enhancement of materials processability to improve performance and reliability of processed materials and structures

 

Programme Themes

  • New Materials Development
  • Materials Enhancement
  • Material Testing
  • Material Processing & Manufacturing

Maritime Sustainability (MSA)

Awarded on 04 Jan 2016

Given its location at the crossroad between East and West trade, Singapore is one of the busiest ports in the world for commercial shipping and maritime services. Last year, the Port of Singapore welcomed more than 135,000 vessels and handled a total of 560 million tonnes of cargo. The maritime industry is an important part of Singapore’s economy as it is one of the fastest growing economic sectors, contributing to 7% of Singapore’s GDP.

To address one of the key challenges facing the maritime industry on sustainable shipping, research and development into innovative technologies to transform maritime transportation and port operations will enhance both regulatory compliance and better service offerings by the industry.

SMI through its engagements with the industry and academia has identified the following research areas and possible corresponding research topics under the Maritime Sustainability grant call to support maritime developments and environment protection:

 

a) Ballast Water Management
Possible Research Topics include Detection and Measuring Equipment / Treatment System, Treatment Technology, and Risk Assessment for Ballast Water Management System.

 

b) Exhaust Emission Control
Possible Research Topics include Scrubbing / Cleaning Technology, Tools and Systems.

 

c) Ship Noise & Vibration
Possible Research Topics include Simulation & Modelling, Materials, and Ship Design and Construction.

 

d) Port Sustainability
Possible Research Topics include Port Air Emission Control Technology, Cleaner Energy for Port, Port Waste-to-Resource Management, and Energy Conservation.

Programme Themes

  • Ballast Water Management
  • Exhaust Emission Control
  • Ship Noise & Vibration
  • Port Sustainability

MPA and SMI Joint Call for Proposals 2020 on Harbour Craft Electrification

Awarded on 01 Oct 2021

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) have awarded funding to three consortiums led by Keppel FELS Limited, SeaTech Solutions and Sembcorp Marine, and comprising a total of 30 enterprises and research institutions, to research, design, build and operate a fully electric harbourcraft over the next five years. These electrification pilot projects will demonstrate both commercial and technical viability of specific use cases for full electric harbourcraft and will support Singapore’s broader plans to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the maritime transport sector.

 

Harbourcraft Electrification Projects

No Consortium lead  Consortium members Project Scope
1 Keppel FELS Limited

Industry

  1. DNV
  2. Eng Hup Shipping

(Vessel owner/operator)

  1. Envision Digital
  2. Surbana Jurong

IHLs/ research institutes

  1. Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
  2. Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore
 To develop Solid State Transformer based shore charger & electric kit on an existing 30 pax ferry
2 SeaTech Solutions International (S) Pte Ltd

Industry

  1. Batam Fast Ferry Pte Ltd
  2. Bernhard Schulte (Singapore) Holdings Pte Ltd
  3. DM Sea Logistics Pte Ltd
  4. Jurong Port Pte Ltd
  5. Kenoil Marine Services Pte Ltd
  6. Lita Ocean Pte Ltd
  7. Marina Offshore Pte Ltd
  8. Rina Hong Kong Limited Singapore Branch
  9. Sterling PBES Energy Solutions Ltd.
  10. Yinson Production Offshore Pte Ltd

(Vessel owner)

IHLs/ research institutes

  1. Singapore Institute of Technology
  2. Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore
 To develop a full electric lighter craft[i]
3 Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard Pte Ltd

Industry

  1. ABB Pte Ltd
  2. Durapower Holdings Pte Ltd
  3. Jurong Marine Services Pte Ltd
  4. OPL Services Pte Ltd
  5. Rolls-Royce Singapore Pte Ltd
  6. SP One Pte Ltd
  7. Tian San Shipping Pte Ltd

(Vessel Owner/ operator)

  1. York Launch Pte Ltd

IHLs/ research institutes

  1. A-STAR Institute of High-Performance Computing
  2. Nanyang Technological University
  3. National University of Singapore
  4. Singapore Institute of Technology
 To develop and build a full electric ferry for 200 persons for a specific route
[i] A lighter craft is a vessel used for the carriage of dry or packaged cargoes.