The Best Seaport in Asia

The Port of Singapore is once again the “Best Seaport in Asia”. Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards (AFSCA) honoured the port for the 25^th time. Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is pleased with the award saying that this award is the confirmation of the world’s strong confidence in the port. The award is attributed to the port’s cost effectiveness, new developments on infrastructures and the simplification of secondary services like logistics and freight forwarding. There are many competitions coming from ports of Hong Kong, Manila, Ningbo, Tianjin, Shenzhen, etc. but Singapore was chosen the best. Well done!

Ports in general provide an important link between land and sea transport. Aside from that, ports present opportunities of jobs directly or indirectly. The Port of Singapore is considered one of the busiest ports in the world when it comes to shipping tonnage handled. In 2012, it handled 2.25 billion gross tons. What made the Port of Singapore grow?

Location

Geography wise, Singapore is the strategically located on the shipping route between India and China. Singapore is near Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the whole of Indo-China. Port of Singapore is the efficient choice as a bunkering station.

Status

Port of Singapore is considered a free port. There are no taxes levied on products except tobacco, alcohol and petroleum. There are no dock, port or light dues.

Government policy

The commercial policy of the government that allows merchants complete freedom of trade contributed to the port’s success. Merchants love this freedom therefore increasing transactions are recorded every day.