Singapore likely to retain top Maritime City title for next five years

Singapore has retained its title as the leading maritime city in the world, according to the 2024 Leading Maritime Cities (LMC) report from DNV and Menon Economics. The city-state, which is renowned for its implementation of a consistent strategy for innovation and investments into green transformation and digital technologies, alongside its large owned and managed vessel fleets, strategic geographic advantages, and pro-business policies, is expected to hold this position for the next five years, the analysis determines.

Compiled in cooperation between classification society DNV and Menon Economics, the LMC report offers new insights into the maritime cities that offer the best policy measures, initiatives, and support. These cities excel in both soft and hard infrastructure and boast elite talent to enable maritime companies and individuals to connect and prosper.

Similar to previous iterations, the study benchmarks each maritime city on five pillars – Shipping Centers, Maritime Finance and Law, Maritime Technology, Ports and Logistics, and Attractiveness and Competitiveness.

Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO Maritime at DNV, said: “Since the last edition of the Leading Maritime Cities report was published in 2022, global tensions have reverberated throughout the maritime industry. Despite this, shipping as a whole has shown a remarkable resilience.”

Singapore hit top spot in three out of five pillars, retaining its position as leader in Attractiveness and Competitiveness and overtaking Athens and Shanghai in Shipping Centers and Ports and Logistics, respectively.

Singapore was followed in the LMC rankings by Rotterdam and London, which both retained their positions from the previous edition of the report.

Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, Regional Manager – South East Asia, Pacific & India, DNV Maritime, said: “Despite the challenges facing the industry, Singapore has appeared unaffected, managing to retain its position as the world’s leading maritime city. DNV’s analysis has identified it as the most attractive and competitive city in the maritime space, with the city-state being viewed by experts as the preeminent shipping center and a top choice for relocating shipping operations.

“Singapore now boasts the world’s second-largest city-owned fleet in addition to the second-largest city-managed fleet, in terms of tonnage, and serves as a crucial hub for global shipping and commercial management. This is due to its strategic geographic positioning along the East-West trade route and its proximity to densely populated markets like China and India.”

Singapore also reclaimed the leading position in the Ports and Logistics pillar through substantial efforts to reduce carbon emissions from its port operations, including widely supporting the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and methanol bunkering.

Fourth and fifth place overall went to Shanghai and Oslo, meaning that three of the five leading cities are in Europe, with the remainder in Asia. Shanghai is also predicted to grow in importance across the next half-decade, becoming the second most prominent maritime city.

Dr Erik Jakobsen, Partner and Chair of Menon Economics, said: “Beyond the top five cities, we see a lot of dynamics happening. Hong Kong, which held 4th position in 2019, has now fallen to 12th place. On the other hand, despite war and turmoil in the Middle Eastern region, Abu Dhabi has strengthened its position considerably. The city made the most remarkable jump, moving up 10 places from 32 to 22.”

The analysis for the 2024 edition of the report saw the introduction of more subjective indicators, revealing the perceptions and evaluations of 190 invited business executives – mostly shipowners and managers – from around the world. Combined with objective data, this has been instrumental in addressing the transformative effect of decarbonization and digital revolution on the shipping industry.

In addition to the LMC ranking, the maritime experts viewed Singapore, Oslo, Shanghai, and Rotterdam as the cities best prepared for digital transformation. Singapore’s investment and focus on maritime decarbonization has also further cemented its position as the world’s leading center for green technologies and solutions, followed by Oslo and Rotterdam.

This article was originally published on Marine & Industrial Report newspaper Vol. 46 No. 3  Issue last June 30, 2024.