25/04/2017

“K” Line And Industry Veteran Patrick Phoon Win Top Honours At Singapore International Maritime Awards 2017

New Skills Framework Launched for Maritime Sector to Raise Awareness of Opportunities in Sector

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) today honoured ten industry partners who have made outstanding contributions to Singapore's development as a premier global hub port and a leading international maritime centre at the Singapore International Maritime Awards (IMA) 2017.

Held in conjunction with the 12th Singapore Maritime Week (SMW), the event was graced by Mrs Josephine Teo, Senior Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Transport, who also launched a new manpower initiative for the maritime industry.

Mr Niam Chiang Meng, MPA’s Chairman, noted that despite the highly cyclical nature and many challenges faced by the shipping business, the maritime sector has been resilient. He said, “A number of nominated candidates have been in Singapore for many years. Some have significantly grown their fleet of Singapore-registered vessels. Others have expanded their corporate functions and business activities. In addition, the industry has invested considerably in maritime manpower development and in technology to enhance their business capabilities.”

“K” Line Pte Ltd and Industry Veteran Patrick Phoon received top honours

With over 100 nominations, the panel of judges faced a daunting task to determine the winners, all of whom have made significant contributions to add vibrancy and depth to the Maritime Singapore eco-system. The recipients range from shipowners to maritime service providers and classification societies, underscoring the vibrant maritime enterprise ecosystem Singapore has. Amongst these, ocean transportation firm, “K” Line Pte Ltd, and Patrick Phoon, Deputy Managing Director of Evergreen Shipping Agency, received the International Maritime Centre (Corporate) Award and the International Maritime Centre (Individual) Award respectively.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd (“K” Line) started out as a representative office in 1973. Since then, “K” Line’s business activities have grown to include ship operations, ship management and ship agency. In 2001, “K” Line established “K” Line Pte Ltd to undertake shipping operations in Singapore. Today, “K” Line Pte Ltd’s shipping operations span container transportation, bulk-carrier, car-carrier and tanker operations. As the Group’s Liner Trade Management Office and Panamax Fleet Allocation Centre, “K” Line Pte Ltd’s corporate functions have also grown extensively over the years. Apart from placing various business functions here, “K” Line Pte Ltd has demonstrated commitment to develop Singapore’s local manpower. “K” Line Pte Ltd’s manpower development investments span across sponsoring MaritimeONE scholarships as well as enabling its promising local staff for attachments at its overseas offices.

International Maritime Centre (Individual) Award winner, Mr Patrick Phoon, is an industry veteran with more than 40 years of shipping experience. Throughout his career, he has provided leadership in the areas of maritime insurance, finance and manpower development. Mr Phoon has played a pivotal role in the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) and is the Association’s longest serving Council member, having served on the Council for 24 years, with the last four years as its President. Under his leadership, SSA identified the insurance and finance sectors as being key to Singapore’s development as a leading IMC. Mr Phoon was instrumental in the establishment of the Singapore War Risk Mutual (SWRM) which helps safeguard shipowners and Singapore’s strategic maritime interests. The SWRM was launched in February 2015 and has placed Singapore on the global map, joining the few jurisdictions with their own war risk pools.

Manpower initiatives to promote maritime careers

At the evening event, Mrs Teo announced the launch of the Skills Framework for Sea Transport. In support of the Jobs and Skills pillar under the Industry Transformation Map (ITM) for Sea Transport, the new initiative aims to guide maritime organisations and educational institutions in developing relevant training programmes, in order to build the competencies of maritime professionals. This Skills Framework for Sea Transport is collaboration between MPA, SkillsFuture Singapore, Workforce Singapore and industry stakeholders.

“As the maritime industry transforms, jobs will become more knowledgeintensive. We will need a workforce that is comfortable with automation and digitalisation. To succeed, the industry also needs our people to have a globalorientation,” said Mrs Teo. The Skills Framework launched provides a good overview of the career development pathways and skills required for 48 different jobs in the Sea Transport sector. In addition, to help more Singaporeans gain overseas exposure, MPA enhanced its Overseas Attachment scheme to support longer overseas training stints. Undergraduates can also get internship placements with international maritime companies through the MPA Global Internship Award.

In addition to the ten IMA industry award winners, 52 maritime enterprises also received certificates for their contributions to the growth of Maritime Singapore.