Singapore named top maritime capital of the world for 3rd consecutive time

Singapore has once again clinched top place in a ranking of the world's maritime capitals called the Menon Report.

The study, by Norwegian consultancy firm Menon Economics, looked at 24 objective indicators and garnered survey responses from more than 250 industry experts across all continents. Singapore was also ranked first in the report's 2015 and 2012 surveys.

Excerpt from the Menon Report:

The third edition of The Leading Maritime Capitals report once again puts Singapore as the Leading Maritime Capital of the World.

Singapore is in a top-5 position within all the five pillars of this study, holding number one position in three of the 5 pillars.

Singapore is in top position in 3 of the 5 pillars.

Despite weak economic conditions in both traditional shipping and the offshore oil and gas markets, Singapore has been able to retain its position as a world leading maritime hub.

Part of the explanation for this is the width of the maritime industry in the city-state.

Singapore has increased its focus on R&D developments within the industry over the last few years. Singapore has also been able to develop a world-leading service industry that is less influenced by business cycles.

Digitalization is expected to disrupt the maritime industry in the coming years.

The maritime experts predict that Singapore, Oslo, Copenhagen and London are the cities best prepared for the digital transformation of the industry.

Looking five years into the future, our experts still predict that Singapore will keep its position as the global leader, while Shanghai is expected to increase its importance and become the second most important maritime city.

Singapore is home to the fourth largest fleet in the world (at city level), while the second largest fleet is managed from the city. This demonstrates the strength in operational capabilities in the city.

One of the industry experts highlights that many foreign owners are located in the city. This illustrates Singapore’s global attractiveness. At the same time, it could also be a sign of vulnerability, because foreign companies probably are more footloose than domestic companies.