Singapore topped the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Center Development Report for another year.
In fact, this is the ninth year in a row that the report – jointly published by China’s state news agency Xinhua and global maritime data provider Baltic Exchange – has ranked Singapore as the top shipping hub.
More specifically, Singapore scored 94.88/100, while the second one on the list, London, achieved a score of 83.04/100. The third place was taken by Shanghai with 82.79/100.
The reasons Singapore remains consistently at the top are its large and established ecosystem of professional global shipping services, good governance, ease of doing business and its large and strategically located port, according to the report.
“We are very honoured that Singapore is ranked top for the ninth consecutive year by the highly regarded Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index Report. It is a reflection of the strong tripartite partnership with our partners, industry players, and unions in Maritime Singapore. During the pandemic, we are also reminded of the global nature of shipping and the need for close collaborations to address global challenges such as crew change,” said the chief executive of the maritime and port authority of Singapore, Quah Ley Hoon.
“As the maritime sector continues to build up resilience and future-ready capability, we will continue to work with our maritime colleagues around the world to drive transformation, particularly in the areas of decarbonisation, digitalisation, and talent development,” she added.
Hong Kong, Dubai, Rotterdam, and Hamburg ranked fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.
Notably, this year, New York/New Jersey overtook Athens/Piraeus to take eighth place on the list, due to the US port’s extremely strong TEU increase in 2021.
A total of 43 maritime locations were rated as part of this report, which considers port factors, the number of players in professional maritime support businesses and general business environment factors.
“This report serves as a valuable reminder of how intrinsic shipping is to global trade and prosperity. It also illustrates that shipping does not exist in silos,” noted Baltic Exchange chief executive, Mark Jackson.
“The success of the maritime hubs included in the top ten list has for the most part been borne out of collaboration and synergies across different sectors of the shipping industry. The Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index shows that a successful shipping centre provides everything that the international shipowner might need, and a successful shipping centre is ultimately also a successful global city,” added Jackson.
