Reviews on Vessel Traffic Information System to Enhance Navigational Safety
Ministry of DefenceSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Ms Joan Pereira’s inquiry on reviewing the Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) to enhance navigational safety and checking sea defenses against potential terrorist attacks. Senior Minister of State Dr Lam Pin Min replied that the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) tracks over 10,000 vessels concurrently using integrated radar and communication data. He noted the VTIS was upgraded early this year to improve traffic management, while the Minister for Defence previously addressed the security concerns. Senior Minister of State Dr Lam Pin Min also highlighted MPA’s focus on fostering a safety-first culture through the National Maritime Safety at Sea Council. These efforts include workshops and briefings under the Safety@Sea campaign to improve seamanship and ensure safe transit through the Singapore Strait and port waters.
Transcript
2 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Transport with regard to the two recent collisions of ships in our territorial waters (a) whether there will be reviews carried out on our Vessel Traffic Information System to enhance the navigational safety and security in our waters; and (b) whether the Ministry will be checking for weaknesses in our sea defence against potential attacks by terrorists in this area.
The Senior Minister of State for Transport (Dr Lam Pin Min) (for the Minister for Transport): Mr Speaker, Sir, allow me to answer part (a) of the question, as part (b) has been earlier addressed by the Minister for Defence in his reply to Question No 1.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) operates the Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS), which integrates data from various sources, including radars, the Automatic Identification System, closed circuit television system, Very High Frequency Communications System and ship databases, to provide an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the traffic in the Singapore Strait and Singapore port waters. With the capability to concurrently track more than 10,000 vessels, VTIS enables MPA to provide timely information and advice to help vessels transit safely through the Singapore Strait, as well as manage traffic within our port waters, where there are some 1,000 vessels at any one time.
Enhancing navigational safety is an important priority for MPA. MPA carries out regular enhancements to its VTIS which was installed in 2011 and upgraded early this year.
Beyond technical capabilities, MPA also seeks to improve the practice of good seamanship and advocate a safety-first culture at sea. MPA established the National Maritime Safety at Sea Council to drive such efforts. MPA also organises conferences, workshops and briefings on navigational safety under its Safety@Sea campaign.