Singapore Continues To Be Top Global Shipping Centre

Singapore has ranked as the top maritime shipping center in a report released by the Baltic Exchange and Chinese state media company, Xinhua. According to the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Development Centre Index (ISDCI) Report, the shipping industry is integral to world trade and provides economic benefits through professional services and infrastructure.

Singapore has the second-busiest port in the world, and that’s why they were ranked the world’s most pro-business country. Singapore has high ratings in many aspects of business, with 94.88 points out of 100 due to its broad network of maritime service providers and ease of doing business.

Last year, Singapore handled nearly 600 million tons of cargo. Of these, more than half-363.7 million tons-were containerized. The report points out that the strategic location of Singapore allows cargo to be shared between Asia and Europe, thus boosting its trade volume.

Singapore is the world’s leading bunker hub, and in 2021 there were 39,447 bunker calls by vessels. In total, 50 million metric tons of bunkers were sold within the same year. Additionally, Singapore also handled 493,000 mt of LNG bunkers in 2021.

London came in second place behind Mumbai in the overall rankings, but it ranks first among maritime services. The UK capital continues to have unmatched expertise, and according to the report, “it can be found across shipbroking, maritime law, insurance and finance.”

The UK handles 30-40% of dry bulk and 50% of tanker fixtures, and London has a 30% share of the global insurance market.

The report also states that Asia as a whole started to dominate the international maritime scene in recent years. This includes Shanghai, China, who had an estimated 80 percent of maritime-related cases in the UK’s court involving one or both parties located outside the UK. Other Asian cities have also seen their positions in this ranking rise dramatically over the past five years.

Among the maritime locations surveyed, 43 received a review. On average, their scores ranged from 58.70 to 76.98. The best ports on the list had an average score of 76.98.

Since port rankings are determined by a number of different factors, this list is based on fifty-seven different criteria. These include cargo throughput, number of cranes, length of container berths, as well as general business environment factors such as customs tariffs, e-government services and logistics performance.

This year’s rankings were slower than last year’s. New York/New Jersey, however, moved up one spot to eighth place due to the increase of TEUs handled as the cargo from U.S. east coast ports was routed to west coast ports.

In ninth place, we find Greece. Europe’s top shipping nation is home to the capital city of Athens, which also houses Marine Traffic. Around 20% of the world fleet is controlled by Greek businesses, making it the most prolific ship-owning country in the world.