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Launch of Singapore Maritime Ambassador Programme at the Singapore Maritime Dialogue

08 August 2015
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Mrs Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Transport, launched the Singapore Maritime Ambassador Programme (SG-MAP) today at the second Singapore Maritime Dialogue. The programme engages students and professionals from various maritime sectors to volunteer as Singapore Maritime Ambassadors. They will help to inspire more Singaporeans, especially the younger generation, to join the maritime sector by showcasing the immense possibilities that this sector offers. This new initiative is spearheaded by the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF), with support from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

The Singapore Maritime Ambassador Programme supports our efforts to build a strong and sustainable core of local talent that will take Maritime Singapore into the next chapter. I am glad that amongst the Ambassadors are students, executives and industry veterans, who will be able to share their experiences and passion for the maritime sector.

Mrs. Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Transport

For a start, 30 Maritime Ambassadors have been identified and more are expected to be appointed in the coming months to complement the current spectrum of promotional and outreach initiatives by various stakeholders in the maritime industry.

Mr Muhammad Hazreen Bin M Haffis, the moderator for this year’s Singapore Maritime Dialogue, is one of the Singapore Maritime Ambassador pioneers. The IMC – MaritimeONE scholar joined IMC Industrial Pte Ltd1 last year, after graduating from Nanyang Technological University with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Maritime Studies.

What excites me about the maritime industry is the dynamic nature of the sector. I had the chance to interact with many maritime professionals when I served as President of the NTU Maritime Business Society, and everyone I met then was genuinely passionate about the industry.

Mr. Muhammad Hazreen Bin M Haffis

“So, I feel honoured and privileged to have the chance to serve as a Maritime Ambassador so I can share what I know and love about the industry. Hopefully, I can inspire other youths to consider maritime careers because shipping plays such an important part in our daily lives; it transports 90 per cent of world trade,” added the 26-year-old, who is on a two-year management trainee programme with IMC Industrial Pte Ltd.

The Singapore Maritime Dialogue aims to create awareness of and generate interest in the maritime education, scholarship and career opportunities that the Singapore maritime industry has to offer. About 280 students from various junior colleges, polytechnics and ITE College Central participated in this year’s event held at The Star Gallery – The Star Performing Arts Centre. The students had the opportunity to hear from and engage in a panel discussion with Mrs Josephine Teo and five senior maritime leaders2 around this year’s theme – “Maritime Singapore in 2030”.

In line with the dialogue’s theme, the exhibition this year featured a future-ready component, where students learnt more about the futuristic technology to be deployed at upcoming mega developments like Tuas Port3. Key features include the use of automated machinery and green energy systems to improve productivity and environmental sustainability. Students also learnt more about maritime-related courses, careers and scholarships at the exhibition, which had participation from academic institutions like Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University and Singapore Institute of Technology.

Another new element was the inter-school maritime quiz. The team from ITE College Central (Business School) came out tops from amongst the 16 teams fielded by attending schools. They received the championship trophy along with the top cash prize of S$1,0004, from the Guest-of-Honour, Mrs Josephine Teo.

Mr Michael Chia, Chairman of SMF and MaritimeONE, had this to say about the maritime industry’s synergistic efforts for student outreach, “The youths of today are increasingly discerning about their future careers, so we need to reach out to them in as many ways as possible, through events like the Singapore Maritime Dialogue, and the Maritime Ambassadors under the new SG-MAP initiative, amongst others.”

Singapore retained its top spot as the most important maritime capital in a recent survey5 that benchmarked 15 cities around the world, and we want our young people to know about the many exciting and varied opportunities in Maritime Singapore that are right at their door steps.

Mr. Michael Chia, Chairman of SMF and MaritimeONE

1 IMC Industrial Group specialises in providing industrial supply chain and logistic solutions to serve companies in a wide spectrum of industries, including the dry bulk, wet bulk, and oil and gas sectors.

2 The dialogue panellists comprised Mrs Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Transport; Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore; Mr James Pang, Managing Director, Pacific Radiance Ltd; Mr Tan Puay Hin, Regional CEO, Southeast Asia, PSA International Pte Ltd; Mr Lee Keng Mun, Head of Shipping, HSH Nordbank AG; and Mr Ong Poh Kwee, Chief Operating Officer, Sembcorp Marine Ltd.

3 All port terminals will consolidate and move to a megaport in Tuas by the end of the next decade. When fully operational, Tuas Port will have the capacity to handle 65 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo annually – nearly double the amount Singapore handled in 2014.

4 The top three teams received trophies along with cash prizes of S$1,000, S$500 and S$200 respectively from the Guest-of-Honour, Mrs Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport.

5 Singapore retained top spot as the most important maritime capital in a recent report released by Norwegian consulting firm, Menon. Singapore emerged first among 15 cities that were benchmarked in five categories: shipping centres, finance & law, technology, ports & logistics, and attractiveness & competitiveness. The report, released in June 2015, consisted of responses from 196 maritime professionals from 33 countries. The inaugural Menon report three years ago also ranked Singapore in first place.

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About Singapore Maritime Foundation

The Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) was established on 27 January 2004 to facilitate dialogue and cooperation among maritime stakeholders from the public and private sectors. As the bridge between the public and private sectors, SMF aims to provide the industry with a clear and representative voice, and spearhead projects to boost its development.

SMF also organises and participates in a host of maritime events to strengthen the Maritime Singapore brand. To date, SMF has significantly benefitted from strong support from all sectors of the industry which has enabled the organisation to reach out directly to the community for new areas of work to improve the current maritime ecosystem.

For details, please visit www.smf.com.sg.

About MaritimeONE

MaritimeONE (Outreach NEtwork) is the key manpower initiative for maritime stakeholders to collectively raise awareness of the maritime industry as well as to profile education and career opportunities for students and committed individuals.

The initiative was launched in April 2007 by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF), Association of Singapore Marine Industries (ASMI) and Singapore Shipping Association (SSA). Partnership activities include industry awareness talks, scholarship offers, student outreach events and regular networking events for employers and tertiary students.

Media Contacts

About Singapore Maritime Foundation
Regina Lim
Senior Manager
(65) 6325 0117
Cheryl Lim
Executive
(65) 6325 0226
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