Singapore unveils new initiatives to strengthen maritime industry

Singapore unveils new initiatives to strengthen maritime industry
24 January 2019 https://www.ship-technology.com/news/singapore-unveils-new-initiatives/

The Government of Singapore has unveiled two initiatives to further strengthen the country’s maritime industry.

The initiatives include the Singapore War Risks Insurance Conditions (SWRIC) and the creation of an interoperability structure for electronic trade documents for the maritime and trade industries.

Announcing the initiatives, Singapore Transport and Health Senior Minister of State Dr Lam Pin Min said: “The close partnership between the government, the industry and Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) is a unique competitive advantage for Singapore.

“We must continue to strengthen this partnership. This will enable Maritime Singapore to stay relevant and competitive.”

The newly announced SWRIC is an upgrade to the Singapore War Risks Mutual (SWRM), the first national war risks insurance facility of the country, which was launched in 2015 to develop Singapore as a comprehensive marine insurance hub.

SWRM is available to the members of SSA and the non-members whose ships are registered in Singapore. It covers Protection and Indemnity (P&I) war risks, hull war risks, detention and diversion expenses, as well as sue, labour and discretionary insurance.

SWRIC, prepared by a workgroup led by SSA, includes a set of insurance conditions that intend to improve the existing war conditions by eliminating the coverage gaps. It also updates and simplifies current war conditions.

It is primarily designed for shipowners to address the risks that are experienced by the global shipping community.

With the initiative to create an interoperability structure for electronic trade documents for the maritime and trade industries, Singapore aims to further digitalise the maritime sector and provide benefits to the greater supply chain ecosystem.

The initiative is further expected to boost the three-party memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), SSA and Singapore Customs in January last year.

As part of the MoU, the three signatories are working together to look into the digitalisation of trade and maritime documentation such as Bills of Lading (BL).

Enhanced war risks coverage for Singapore maritime sector
Janice Heng Jan 22, 2019 https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/enhanced-war-risks-coverage-f...

SINGAPORE'S maritime community can enjoy enhanced coverage for war risks under new insurance conditions launched on Tuesday night at the Singapore Shipping Association's (SSA) annual Chinese New Year cocktail reception.

The new Singapore War Risks Insurance Conditions (SRWIC) are an enhancement to the existing Singapore War Risks Mutual (SWRM) insurance facility, launched in 2015 and covering almost 800 ships to date. Coverage under the SWRM rules is available to SSA members irrespective of where their ships are registered, and non-members whose ships are registered in Singapore.

The new SWRIC was developed from the perspective of shipowners, aiming to address gaps seen by industry players. It offers shipowners more breadth and certainty in terms of coverage, and its wording is simplified to be user- and reader-friendly, said Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min at Tuesday's launch.

The SWRIC presents a local equivalent to the war insurance cover provided by internationally-used marine insurance plans such as the Nordic Plan and the United Kingdom's Institute Time Clauses. "Local expertise will be developed to ensure that the conditions are updated and remain relevant to the industry," said the SSA and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in a joint release on Tuesday.

Tuesday's event also saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop an inter-operability framework for electronic trade documents. The maritime sector has been moving towards the digitalisation of documentation such as Bills of Lading. To ensure that electronic documents can travel smoothly across different digital systems, the aim under the MOU is to develop a set of governance and legal frameworks, technical standards and inter-operable digital enablers.