Tagged: P&I, ports and terminals, premiums, shipowner

Earlier this year, the American P&I Club issued a members alert regarding lay ups in Singapore. It refers to a general indication that Singapore’s port has become congested with laid up vessels and that members should be aware of an increased risk of collision. It appears that most claims have resulted from mis-calculating the strength and direction of tidal currents.

The International Herald Tribune published an article in May referring to the congestion in Singapore, citing data from AIS that showed 735 vessels had congretated in and around the port due to the nosedive in international trade in and out of Asia (particularly China).

The UK P&I Club also recently commented on the increased risk of collisions due to lay ups, particularly as the average vessel size has increased.

However, in response to the American P&I Club’s alert, the Singapore MPA denied that there has been an accumulation of vessels and that utilisation rates of their anchorages have remained stable. MPA Port Master Lee Cheng Wee is quoted as saying the anchorages have not become crowded due to the economic downturn and that concerns over increasing congestion are unfounded.

On the other hand, they are witnessing a large number of owners anchoring vessels outside of the port’s boundaries where they do not have pay port fees. Last week, the Singapore MPA issued another statement saying that whilst the port’s anchorages were busy, they were not overcrowded, and instead turned their attention to owners anchoring outside of the port’s limits.

There are certainly inherent risks for vessels at anchorage however, we are not seeing anything in the markets to suggest that the American Club’s sentiment is being shared, certainly not in terms of increased premiums for those navigating Singapore’s waters, and nor do we expect there to be.

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