The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will implement a two-phase increase in port dues rates from January 2022, to fund the increase in costs and maintenance of the Port of Singapore.

Under the new rates of Phase 1, which will take effect from January 1, 2022, vessels calling at the Port of Singapore to embark or disembark passengers or to load and unload cargo and with port stays of between two and four days will see port dues increase by around six percent.

Vessels that stay in port for a day or less will not be impacted by the increase in port dues in this phase, to encourage quicker turnarounds and thus serve more vessels. However, they will be affected by Phase 2 of the hike, which will take effect from January 1, 2023.

The last time the port dues rates were revised was in 2014. The increase in funding will contribute towards maintaining the vessel-traffic management system, and anchorages, fairways, and navigation aids.

The Port of Singapore is strategically located at the crossroads of East-West trade channels and is connected to 600 ports in over 120 countries. It also handles over 37.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers and 626.2 million tons of cargo annually, making it one of the world’s busiest. In addition, the government is looking to expand this further when the Tuas Mega Port is completed in 2040, which will be the largest container terminal in the world with a combined 50 million TEU capacity of the current five port terminals.

How will the new rates affect the different vessel activity categories?

Ocean-going vessels calling at the Port of Singapore are subject to port dues, which are determined by the following:

• Size of the vessel (per 100 gross tonnages (GT);
• Length of stay (per 24-hour block); and
• Purpose of call.

There are four categories of port dues tariffs.
Category 1

Category 1 covers:

• Loading or disembarking cargo;
• Embarking or disembarking passengers; or
• Other afloat activities.

Category 2

Category 2 covers:

• Vessels taking bunkers;
• Vessels taking ship supplies; or
• Changing crew.

Category 3

Category 3 covers vessels doing repairs/outfitting/docking activities.

Port-Dues-Rates-for-Category-3-Vessels
Category 4

Category 4 covers offshore support vehicles.

Annual and six-month port dues schemes

Vessels that make frequent calls to the Port of Singapore can apply for the annual or six-month port dues schemes. Vessels under these schemes can enjoy free port dues for the first five days of stay within their eligible period of stay.

From January 1, 2022, vessels covered by these schemes will enjoy free port dues for the first four days of stay within their eligible period of stay.

The rates of the schemes remain unchanged.

Port dues rebates

Port dues rebates will be accorded to vessels with a port stay not exceeding four days from January 1, 2022. These include:

• 10 percent port dues concession for Green Port Program vessels that engage LNG-fueled harbor craft for port operations;
• 20 percent port dues concession for container vessels loading or discharging goods;
• 25 percent port dues concessions under the Green Port Program;
• 100 percent maritime welfare fee concession; and
• Port dues rebate for vessels handling transshipment vehicles in Singapore.

Discontinuation of schemes

From January 1, 2022, the Frequent Caller Scheme (FCS) and the 20 percent port dues concession for passenger vessels will be discontinued.
Source: ASEAN Briefing