Container and bunker volumes at Port of Singapore will decline in 2022

Chee Hong Tat, Singapore Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport
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Singapore reported declines in both container volumes and bunker sales buffeted by a slowdown in global box trades and Russian-Ukraine war fuel supply chain disruptions.

Chee Hong Tat, senior minister of state for finance and transport, presented Singapore’s annual port figures at the Singapore Maritime Foundation’s (SMF) 2023 New Year talks on Friday, noting that global container trade fell by 3% to 4% in 2022.

The world’s second-busiest container port, Singapore, handled 37.3 million TEUs last year, down 0.7% from the record 37.6 million TEUs handled by the city-state’s terminals in 2021.

“It is important that we have maintained our position as the largest transshipment port in the world. And during the pandemic, we have enhanced Singapore’s connectivity and strengthened our position as a catch-up port for shipping lines, contributing to the resilience of global supply chains,” Minister Chee said.

Singapore maintained its position as the world’s largest bunker port in 2022, although it reported a 4.3% drop in volumes sold to 47.9 million tons last year compared to 2021. The volume of bunkers sold last year was also lower than in 2020, when 49.8 million tons of bunkers were delivered to the port. The overall drop in bunker sales for 2022 came despite a strong rebound in the second half of the year.

“Volumes fell particularly in the first half of 2022, when the war between Russia and Ukraine led to supply chain disruptions and higher bunker prices worldwide,” the minister said. “Bunker sales in Singapore have since recovered with a 9.5% increase in sales volume through H1 2022.

On the alternative fuels frontline, Singapore conducted 15 LNG bunkering operations at its port last year. Progress has been made in biofuel delivery, with more than 90 bunker operations delivering over 140,000 tonnes of biofuel blends to ships.

Source: News Network

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