Singapore was named the world's top maritime centre for the ninth consecutive year in the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development (ISCD) Index.
Singapore garnered 94.88 out of a possible 100 points in the index, followed by London with 83.04 points, and Shanghai — home to the world's busiest port — was third with 82.79 points.
The index provides an independent ranking of the performance of 43 maritime locations on factors including cargo throughput, port facilities, maritime services, and business environment.
Singapore is ranked first, based on its robust port infrastructure, comprehensive range of maritime services, and supportive government policies.
Singapore welcomes ranking
Chee Hong Tat, senior minister of State for Finance and Transport, attributed the success of the Singapore maritime industry to both public and private sector players.
"Maritime Singapore's continued success as a leading maritime hub would not have been possible without the strong collaboration between our tripartite partners. I thank our industry and unions for their resilience during the pandemic. We will continue to innovate and grow together, and bring Maritime Singapore to greater heights," he said.
Quah Ley Hoon, chief executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, also welcomed the naming of Singapore as the top maritime centre for nine years.
"We are very honoured that Singapore is ranked top for the ninth consecutive year by the highly regarded Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index Report. It is a reflection of the strong tripartite partnership with our partners, industry players, and unions in Maritime Singapore," Ley Hoon said.
"During the pandemic, we are also reminded of the global nature of shipping and the need for close collaborations to address global challenges such as crew change. As the maritime sector continues to build up resilience and future-ready capability, we will continue to work with our maritime colleagues around the world to drive transformation, particularly in the areas of decarbonisation, digitalization, and talent development," she added.
Top 10 in the ISCD ranking
Meanwhile, based on the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development (ISCD) Index, completing the top ten list of maritime centres were Hong Kong, Dubai, Rotterdam, and Hamburg — which took fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh place respectively.
This year, New York/ New Jersey overtook Athens/ Piraeus to take the eighth place on the list, due to its port’s exceptionally strong TEU uptick last year as shipping lines and logistics firms shipped goods through the US east coast port to avoid congestion issues on the US west coast.
Like in 2021, the Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan in China completed the top 10.
The ISCD index is published jointly by the global maritime data provider, the Baltic Exchange, and the Chinese state news agency, Xinhua.
