The Port of Singapore with Sentosa island in the background. Sentosa, which means peace and tranquillity in Malay, is a popular Island Resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people

The Port of Singapore refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade handling functions in Singapore's harbours and which handle Singapore's shipping. A container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles for onward transportation Singapore A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences) or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the Weather or are stored Shipping is physical process of Transporting goods and Cargo. Currently the world's busiest port in terms of total shipping tonnage, it also handles a quarter of the world's shipping containers as the world's busiest container port, half of the world's annual supply of crude oil, and is the world's busiest transshipment port. The world's busiest Port is contested by several ports around the world This is a list of the world's busiest container Seaports, total mass of actual TEU (in thousands transported through the port Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit This is a list of the World's busiest Transshipment Ports ranked by their total containerised transshipment cargo handled It was also the busiest port in terms of total cargo tonnage handled until 2005, when it was surpassed by Shanghai. This is a list of the world's busiest Seaports by cargo tonnage, the total mass of actual cargo transported through the port Shanghai ( 上[[wikt 海|海]] is the largest city in China in terms of population and one of the largest urban areas in the world with over 20 million Thousands of ships drop anchor in the harbour, connecting the port to over 600 other ports in 123 countries and spread over six continents.

Ships laying at anchor outside the Port of Singapore.

The Port of Singapore is not a mere economic boon, but an economic necessity due to the fact that Singapore is lacking in land and natural resources. Natural resources are naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively unmodified ( natural) form The Port is critical for importing natural resources, and then later re-exporting them after they have been refined and shaped in some manner, for example wafer fabrication or oil refining to generate revenue. Wafer Fabrication is a procedure composed of many repeated sequential processes to produce complete electrical or photonic circuits. An oil refinery is an industrial Process plant where Crude oil is processed and refined into more useful Petroleum products, such as Gasoline Only then can the service industry such as hospitality services typical of a port of call, for example, restocking a ship's food and water supplies, take their role. The Straits of Johor is currently impassable by all ships as the Johor-Singapore Causeway links Singapore to Malaysia. The Straits of Johor (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Johor Strait, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach) is a Strait The Johor-Singapore Causeway (Tambak Johor is a 1056-metre Causeway that links the city of Johor Bahru in Malaysia across the Straits of Johor

The port was documented in a MegaStructures programme of the National Geographic Channel called "World's Busiest Port". MegaStructures is a Documentary television series appearing on the National Geographic Channel and Five in the United Kingdom and National Geographic Channel, also called Nat Geo, is a subscription television network that features Documentaries produced by the National Geographic Society

History

Before 1819

In the late 13th century, a settlement known as Singapore was established on the north bank of the Singapore River around what was called the Old Harbour. The Singapore River is a small River in Singapore with great historical importance It was the only port in the southern part of the Strait of Malacca and serviced ships and traders in the region, competing with other ports along the coast of the Malacca Strait such as Jambi, Kota Cina, Lambri, Semudra, Palembang, South Kedah and Tamiang. The Strait of Malacca is a narrow 805 km (500 mile stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra Jambi is a province of Indonesia located on the east coast of central Sumatra. Palembang is a city of 1286000 in the south of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Kedah ( Jawi: قدح pop 1778188 is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The port had two functions. First, it made available products that were in demand by international markets; according to the Daoyu Zhilüe (Brief Annals of Foreign Islands, 1349)^[1] by Chinese trader Wang Dayuan (born 1311, fl. 1328–1339), these included top-quality hornbill casques,^[2] lakawood and cotton. Wang Dayuan (simplified Chinese 汪[[wikt 大|大]] 渊, fl 1328-1339 was a traveller from Quanzhou, China during the Yuan Dynasty Hornbills ( family Bucerotidae) are a group of Birds characterized by a long down-curved bill sometimes with a casque on the upper mandible Although these goods were also available from other Southeast Asian ports, those from Singapore were unique in terms of their quality. Secondly, Singapore acted as a gateway into the regional and international economic system for its immediate region. South Johor and the Riau Archipelago supplied products to Singapore for export elsewhere, while Singapore was the main source of foreign products to the region. Johor (alt English spelling Johore, Jawi scriptجوهر is a state of Malaysia between 1°20"N and 2°35"N Not to be confused with Riau Islands, a province. The Riau Archipelago (Indonesian Kepulauan Riau) is a group of islands within the Riau Islands Archaeological artefacts such as ceramics and glassware found in the Riau Archipelago evidence this. In addition, cotton was transshipped from Java or India through Singapore. Transshipment or Transhipment is the Shipment of goods to an intermediate destination and then from there to yet another destination ^[3]

By the 15th century, although Singapore had declined as an international trading port due to the ascendance of the Malacca Sultanate, such trade continued on the island. The Sultanate of Malacca was founded by Parameswara in 1402 and later married the princess of Pasai in 1409. A map of Singapore by Portuguese mathematician Manuel Gordinho d'Eredia showed the location of the office of a shabandar, the Malay official responsible for international trade, and shards of 15th-century Siam ceramics and late 16th - or early 17th-century Chinese blue and white porcelain have been found at the Singapore and Kallang Rivers. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Malays (Melayu are an Ethnic group of Austronesian peoples predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The Kallang River ( Chinese: 加冷河 Pinyin: Jiālěng Hé) flows for 10 kilometres from the Lower Peirce Reservoir to the Coast Singapore also provided other regional ports with local products demanded by international markets. For instance, blackwood (a generic term used by Europeans to refer to rosewood) was exported from Singapore to Malacca, and was in turn purchased by Chinese traders and shipped to China for furniture-making. The European peoples are the various Nations and Ethnic groups of Europe. In the early 17th century, Singapore's main settlement and its port were destroyed by a punitive force from Aceh. See also Sultanate of Aceh Aceh (ʔaˈtɕɛh generally anglicized as ˈɑːtʃeɪ is a special territory ( daerah istimewa) of Indonesia After this, there was no significant settlement or port at Singapore until 1819 when Sir Stamford Raffles, excited by the deep and sheltered waters in Keppel Harbour, established for Britain a new settlement and international port on the island. Keppel Harbour ( is a stretch of water in Singapore between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani and Sentosa. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located ^[3]

1819–1963

Keen to attract Asian and European traders to the new port, Raffles directed that land along the banks of the Singapore River, particularly the south bank, be reclaimed where necessary and allocated to Chinese and English country traders to encourage them to establish a stake in the port-settlement. Chinese traders, because of their frequent commercial interactions with Southeast Asian traders throughout the year, set up their trading houses along the lower reaches of the river, while English country traders, who depended on the annual arrival of trade from India, set up warehouses along the upper reaches. The port relied on three main networks of trade that existed in Southeast Asia at that time: the Chinese network, which linked Southeast Asia with the southern Chinese ports of Fujian and Guangdong; the Southeast Asian network, which linked the islands of the Indonesian archipelago; and the European and Indian Ocean network, which linked Singapore to the markets of Europe and the Indian Ocean littoral. This article is about the People's Republic of China province Guangdong ( EFEO: Kouangtong; Pinyin Guǎngdōng; Postal map spelling: Kwangtung) is a province on the The Malay Archipelago is a name given to the Archipelago located between mainland Southeastern Asia ( Indochina) and Australia. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface Littoral refers to the coast of an ocean or sea or to the banks of a river lake or estuary These networks were complementary, and positioned Singapore as the transshipment point of regional and international trade. By the 1830s, Singapore had overtaken Batavia (now Jakarta) as the centre of the Chinese junk trade, and also become the centre of English country trade, in Southeast Asia. Jakarta (also DKI Jakarta) is the Capital and largest city of Indonesia. This was because Southeast Asian traders preferred the free port of Singapore to other major regional ports which had cumbersome restrictions. A free port ( porto franco) or free zone (US Foreign-Trade Zone is a port or area with relaxed jurisdiction with respect to the country of location Singapore had also supplanted Tanjung Pinang as the export gateway for the gambier and pepper industry of the Riau–Lingga Archipelago by the 1830s, and South Johor by the 1840s. Tanjung Pinang or Tanjungpinang is the capital and largest town of the Indonesian province of Riau Islands. Uncaria is a Genus of Flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae, native to Asia, Africa, and South America Riau Islands ( Indonesian: Kepulauan Riau ( Kepri or Riau Kepulauan) is a province of Indonesia, consisting of Riau Archipelago Not to be confused with "Linga" a common Scottish island name see Linga (disambiguation The Lingga Islands or Lingga Archipelago ( It had also become the centre of the Teochew trade in marine produce and rice. ^[3]

As the volume of its maritime trade increased in the 19th century, Singapore became a key port of call for sailing and steam vessels in their passage along Asian sea routes. Sailing ship is now used to refer to any large Wind -powered Vessel. A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving a Propeller From the 1840s, Singapore became an important coaling station for steam shipping networks that were beginning to form. A coaling station is a Seaport built for the purpose of replenishing supplies including but by no means limited to Coal. Towards the late 19th century, Singapore became a staple port servicing the geographical hinterland of the Malay Peninsula. A staple port is a port designated by a government or monarch as a place where specific goods may be exported or imported The hinterland is the land or district behind the borders of a coast or river The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula (Semenanjung Tanah Melayu (คาบสมุทรมลายู is a major Peninsula located in Southeast Following the institution of the British Foward Movement, Singapore became the administrative capital of British Malaya. British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula that were colonized by the British from the 18th and the 19th until the 20th century Roads and railways were developed to transport primary materials such as crude oil, rubber and tin from the Malay Peninsula to Singapore to be processed into staple products, and then shipped to Britain and other international markets. During the colonial period, this was the most important role of the port of Singapore. ^[3]

Since 1963

Singapore ceased to be part of the British Empire when it merged with Malaysia in 1963. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Singapore lost its hinterland and was no longer the administrative or economic capital of the Malay Peninsula. The processing in Singapore of raw materials extracted in the Peninsula was drastically reduced due to the absence of a common market between Singapore and the Peninsular states. ^[3]

Since Singapore's full independence in 1965, it has had to compete with other ports in the region to attract shipping and trade at its port. It has done so by developing an export-oriented economy based on value-added manufacturing. It obtains raw or partially-manufactured products from regional and global markets and exports value-added products back to these markets through market access agreements such as World Trade Organization directives and free trade agreements. See also List of free trade agreements This is article is on free international trade ^[3]

By the 1980s, maritime trading activity had ceased in the vicinity of the Singapore River except in the form of passenger transport, as other terminals and harbours took over this role. Keppel Harbour is now home to three container terminals. A container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles for onward transportation Other terminals were built in Jurong and Pasir Panjang as well as in Sembawang in the north. Jurong is a Constituency and town of Singapore, located in the western part of the mainland in the West Region. Pasir Panjang is an area in the south-western part of Singapore. Etymology The earliest reference to Sembawang is found in Franklin and Jackson's 1830 ''Map of Singapore'', which refers to the River Tambuwang Today, the port operations in Singapore are handled by two players: PSA International (formerly the Port of Singapore Authority) and Jurong Port, which collectively operate six container terminals and three general-purpose terminals around Singapore. PSA International Pte Ltd is a second largest Port operator in the world Jurong Port Pte Ltd ( Chinese: 裕廊海港私人有限公司 is the second Port operator in Singapore after being awarded its port licence by the

In the 1990s the Port became more well-known and overtook Yokohama, and eventually became the busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage.

The Pasir Panjang Container Terminal lies to the left and Jurong Port in the background of this panoramic view of the southwestern part of Singapore, showing the southern parts of Queenstown, and Clementi and Jurong. Pasir Panjang is an area in the south-western part of Singapore. Jurong Port Pte Ltd ( Chinese: 裕廊海港私人有限公司 is the second Port operator in Singapore after being awarded its port licence by the Queenstown 1 is one of the early housing estates in Singapore, built before Toa Payoh and Ang Mo Kio, and was a test bed for much of Singapore's Clementi is a town in Singapore, located in the west between Jurong and Dover, and commonly refers to the Housing and Development Board Jurong is a Constituency and town of Singapore, located in the western part of the mainland in the West Region.

Operations

The M. T. Torben Spirit at anchor in Singapore – photographed on 6 September 2005. The MT Torben Spirit is an Aframax oil tanker. She was built in 1993 at the Onomichi shipyard in Japan Singapore Events 3114 BC - According to the Proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

The port is the world's busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage handled, with 1. The world's busiest Port is contested by several ports around the world 15 billion gross tons (GT) handled in 2005. In terms of cargo tonnage, Singapore is behind Shanghai with 423 million freight tons handled. The port retains its position as the world's busiest hub for transshipment traffic in 2005, and is also the world's biggest bunkering hub, with 25 million tonnes sold in the same year. Transshipment or Transhipment is the Shipment of goods to an intermediate destination and then from there to yet another destination ^[4]

Singapore is ranked first globally in 2005 in terms of containerised traffic, with 23. Containerization (or containerisation) is a system of Intermodal freight transport Cargo Transport using standard ISO containers 2 million Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled. Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (often TEU or teu) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of Container ships and Container High growth in containerised traffic has seen the port overtaking Hong Kong since the first quarter of 2005,^[5] and has led the race ever since, with an estimated 19,335 TEUs handled in the year up to October, compared to 18,640 TEUs handled in Hong Kong in the same period. A rise in regional traffic consolidating the port's position in Southeast Asia, and increases in transshipment traffic using the strategic East Asia-Europe route via Singapore helped the port to emerge tops at the end of the year, a title it had not held since overtaking Hong Kong once in 1998. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders

Operators

Keppel Container Terminal in Singapore

PSA Singapore's container facilities are as follows:

• Container berths: 44
• Quay length: 12,800 m
• Area: 436 hectares
• Max draft: 16 m
• Quay cranes: 143
• Designed capacity: 24,700 kTEU

PSA Singapore has 13 berths which are part of the Pasir Panjang Container Terminal's Phase Two which are due for completion by 2009. Phase Three and Four will add another 16 berths and are expected to be completed by 2013. ^[6]

Jurong Port's facilities are as follows:

• Berths: 23
• Berth length: 4,545 m
• Maximum vessel draft: 16 m
• Maximum vessel size: 150,000 metric tons of deadweight (DWT)
• Area: 1. Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight and variously abbreviated as DWT, D 2 km² Free Trade Zone, 320,000 m² non-Free Trade Zone
• Warehouse facilities: 280,000 m²

Terminals

Notes

References

• Heng, Derek, “Continuities and Changes : Singapore as a Port-City over 700 Years”, Biblioasia (Singapore: National Library Board) 1 (1): 12–16, ISSN 0219-8126 . The National Library Board ( Abbreviation: NLB; Chinese: 国家图书馆管理局 Malay: Lembaga Perpustakaan Negara; Tamil An International Standard Serial Number ( ISSN) is a unique eight-digit number used to identify a print or electronic Periodical publication.

Further reading

History

• Sinnappah Arasaratnam (1972). Pre-modern Commerce and Society in Southern Asia : An Inaugural Lecture Delivered at the University of Malaya on December 21, 1971. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya. The University of Malaya ( Abbreviation: UM; Universiti Malaya is the oldest university in Malaysia.  
• Braddell, Roland (1980). A Study of Ancient Times in the Malay Peninsula and the Straits of Malacca and Notes on Ancient Times in Malaya / by Dato Sir Roland Braddell. Notes on the Historical Geography of Malaya / by Dato F. W. Douglas (MBRAS reprints; no. 7). Kuala Lumpur: Printed for the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society by Art Print. Works.  
• Chiang, Hai Ding (1978). A History of Straits Settlements Foreign Trade, 1870–1915 (Memoirs of the National Museum; no. 6). Singapore: National Museum. The National Museum of Singapore ( Chinese: 新加坡国家博物院 is a national Museum in Singapore and the oldest museum in Singapore  
• Hall, Kenneth R. (1985). Maritime Trade and State Development in Early Southeast Asia. Honolulu, Hi. : University of Hawai‘i Press. The University of Hawaii Press is a University press that is part of the University of Hawai{{okina}}i. ISBN 0824809599 (pbk. ). ISBN 0824808436 (hbk. ).  
• Ishii, Yoneo (ed. ) (1998). The Junk Trade from Southeast Asia : Translations from the Tosen Fusetsu-gaki, 1674–1723. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS); Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National History, Australian National University. The Australian National University, commonly abbreviated to ANU, is a public Research university situated in Canberra, Australia. ISBN 9812300228.  
• Miksic, John N. (1985). Archaeological Research on the "Forbidden Hill" of Singapore : Excavations at Fort Canning, 1984. Singapore: National Museum. The National Museum of Singapore ( Chinese: 新加坡国家博物院 is a national Museum in Singapore and the oldest museum in Singapore ISBN 9971917165 (pbk. ).  
• Miksic, John N. ; Cheryl-Ann Low Mei Gek (gen. eds. ) (2004). Early Singapore 1300s–1819 : Evidence in Maps, Text and Artefacts. Singapore: Singapore History Museum. The National Museum of Singapore ( Chinese: 新加坡国家博物院 is a national Museum in Singapore and the oldest museum in Singapore ISBN 9810502834 (pbk. ).  
• Ooi, Giok Ling; Brian J. Shaw (2004). Beyond the Port City : Development and Identity in 21st Century Singapore. Singapore: Prentice Hall. Prentice Hall is a leading educational publisher It is an Imprint of Pearson Education Inc ISBN 013008381X (pbk. ).  
• Shaffer, Lynda Norene (1996). Maritime Southeast Asia to 1500. Armonk, N. Y. : M. E. Sharpe. ISBN 1563241447 (pbk. ). ISBN 1563241439 (hbk. ).  
• Trocki, Carl A. (1979). Prince of Pirates : The Temenggongs and the Development of Johor and Singapore, 1784–1885. Singapore: Singapore University Press.  

Present day

• Yap, Chris (1990). A Port's Story, A Nation's Success. Singapore: Times Editions for Port of Singapore Authority. PSA International Pte Ltd is a second largest Port operator in the world  
• Ho, David K[im] H[in] (1996). The Seaport Economy: A Study of the Singapore Experience. Singapore: Singapore University Press. ISBN 997169199X (pbk. ).  
• (2000) Singapore Shipping: Past, Present & Future. Singapore: Singapore Shipping Association.  
• Danam, Jacqueline (ed. ) (2003). PSA: Full Ahead. Singapore: PSA Corporation. PSA International Pte Ltd is a second largest Port operator in the world ISBN 9814068470.  

External links

• Official website of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
  • Port operational statistics
• Landow, George P. Singapore Harbor from its Founding to the Present : A Brief Chronology. Postcolonial Web. Retrieved on 2007-09-01. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle.
• Singapore Maritime Portal