SINGAPORE continues to drive forward on maritime digitalisation, with the launch a refreshed maritime research and development road map barely a year after the pivotal Sea Transport Industry Road Map was launched to push the transformation of the maritime industry.

At the opening of the 4th Singapore Maritime Technology Conference, which is part of Singapore Maritime Week 2019, senior minister of state for transport and health Lam Pin Min said that despite some initial fears after the launch of the road map, momentum in the industry has picked up and more companies have stepped out of their comfort zones to embrace change.

He noted, for example, that many companies have partnered the government to further their technology development and more than 18 organisations are already working on innovative solutions for maritime applications with the MPA’s Maritime Innovation Lab.

Innovation, change and digitalisation are broad areas of focus and over the next three years, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will target digitalisation to help companies innovate and improve productivity.

The Singapore Maritime Institute will present the Singapore Maritime R&D Roadmap 2030 to optimise research and development efforts and resources for greater value co-creation within the maritime industry.

“An important enabler of transformation is digitalisation,” said Dr Lam, while revealing that the government has set aside S$3.7m ($2.7m) over the next three years for the Sea Transport Industry Digital Plan to help SMEs to digitalise

This will begin with the ship agency and harbour craft companies and will be rolled out to other sectors later.

MPA chief executive Quah Ley Hoon said: “Innovation and digitalisation are key areas for Maritime Singapore to sharpen our competitive edge. We recognise that some companies need help to kick-start their digitalisation journey.”

With initiatives such as the Circle of Digital InnOvators network to champion the adoption of technology and innovation and the IDP it is hoped that the maritime sector can be brought to a new level.

In collaboration with the Singapore Shipping Association, MPA hopes the CDO network will spearhead digitalisation initiatives in the maritime industry and uplift the innovation hub status of Maritime Singapore.

The IDP meanwhile provides SMEs with an easy-to-use, step-by-step guide on the digital solutions to adopt at each stage of their growth and simplifies the process for SMEs to go digital so that they can readily access the right digital capabilities to achieve internal efficiencies, reduce cost and improve their services for sustained growth in the digital economy.

As part of its updating of the Singapore Maritime R&D Roadmap, SMI has outlined five strategic research thrusts: Efficient and Intelligent World-Class Next Generation Port, Strategic Sea Space and Maritime Traffic management, Smart Fleet Operations and Autonomous Vessels, Effective Maritime Safety & Security and Sustainable Maritime Environment & Energy.