Singapore and the International Maritime Organization
Ninety percent of world trade travels by sea. And forty percent of global cargo passes through the narrow waterway right next to Singapore. If that strait gets blocked or becomes unsafe, the world economy has a serious problem. This chapter explains how Singapore works with the International Maritime Organization to keep things moving.
This is part of my retelling of “50 Years of Singapore and the United Nations” (Tommy Koh, Li Lin Chang, Joanna Koh, 2015, ISBN: 978-9814713030).
Chapter 21 is written by Mary Seet-Cheng, a career diplomat who was seconded to Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) as Policy Director in the late 1990s. She explains why the IMO is one of the most important UN bodies for Singapore, and what Singapore has done as a member since 1966.
Why Singapore Cares So Much About the IMO
The IMO was established in 1959 with its headquarters in London. It sets safety and pollution prevention standards for international shipping. For most countries, the IMO is just one of many UN agencies. For Singapore, it’s personal.
Singapore sits in three roles at once. It’s a major flag state, with more than 4,000 vessels on its ship registry totaling 73.6 million gross tonnes as of 2013. That makes it one of the ten largest ship registries in the world. It’s a major port state, with vessel arrivals reaching 2.36 billion gross tonnes and handling 32.6 million containers in 2013. And it’s a coastal state bordering the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS), through which 40% of world cargo passes.
Because IMO membership contributions are based on ship tonnage, Singapore is one of the largest contributors to the IMO’s budget. So Singapore pays a lot, depends on shipping a lot, and has a coastline that sits right on one of the busiest shipping lanes on the planet. Of course they care about the IMO.
Keeping the Straits Safe
The Straits of Malacca and Singapore are one of the most critical waterways in the world. Three countries border it: Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), countries bordering an international strait can’t block ships from passing through. But they can propose rules for safe navigation and pollution prevention. And those rules have to go through the IMO for adoption.
The three littoral states worked together on a traffic separation scheme to manage the flow of shipping through the straits. Think of it like lanes on a highway, but for massive cargo ships. They also set up a mandatory ship reporting system called STRAITREP, which went into effect in 1998. STRAITREP helps with navigation safety, marine environment protection, search and rescue, and oil spill response.
These are not theoretical concerns. Ships move through this strait constantly, and a single accident can cause massive environmental damage or block trade worth billions.
Twenty Years on the IMO Council
The IMO has 170 member states, governed by an Assembly that meets every two years. Between meetings, a 40-member Council runs things. Singapore has been on that Council since 1993, winning re-election every two years since then.
Being on the Council means being part of the decision-making. Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority represents the country at the IMO. MPA officials have chaired and held vice-chair positions on multiple important committees: the Maritime Safety Committee, the Marine Environment Protection Committee, and sub-committees covering everything from bulk liquids to flag state implementation.
Mary Seet-Cheng herself chaired Committee 1 of the 21st Session of the IMO Assembly in 1999. Mr. Chen Tze Penn, then Director General of MPA, was Chairman of the IMO Council from 2001 to 2003. So Singapore wasn’t just sitting in the room. It was running parts of the organization.
The consistent re-elections are a signal. Other countries recognize that Singapore brings something valuable to the table. Having experience as a flag state, a port state, and a coastal state all at once gives Singapore a balanced perspective that most countries simply don’t have.
Guiding Principles
Mary lays out four principles that guide Singapore’s participation:
First, promote safe and secure shipping and reduce the risk of marine pollution through practical regulations within the IMO framework.
Second, push for global rules, not unilateral ones. Singapore opposes individual countries or regions imposing their own shipping rules that undermine the global framework.
Third, balance the rights of coastal states, flag states, and port states. Freedom of navigation is a core principle, and Singapore works to protect it.
Fourth, help other countries implement IMO regulations through capacity building programs. Good rules only work if everyone can follow them.
Training the World’s Maritime Officials
In 1998, Singapore became the first IMO member to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for a Third Country Training Programme (TCTP). The idea was to provide technical assistance and sponsor training for developing countries in maritime administration.
Under this program, Singapore sends experts to conduct training on behalf of the IMO, covering countries in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. By the time of this chapter, Singapore had conducted 65 training courses, training about 1,600 officials from more than 80 maritime administrations.
Other IMO members followed Singapore’s lead and set up similar programs. So Singapore didn’t just contribute directly. It created a model that multiplied the impact.
Protecting Vital Shipping Lanes
In 2004, the IMO Secretary-General launched an initiative called “Protection of Vital Shipping Lanes.” The goal was a comprehensive approach to safety, security, and pollution control in critical waterways. Singapore worked with the IMO to start this initiative in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
In September 2007, the littoral states, user states, and other stakeholders met in Singapore and adopted a new framework for cooperation. It’s called the Co-operative Mechanism, and it’s considered a historic milestone in international maritime cooperation.
Here’s why it’s significant. Article 43 of UNCLOS says that user states and states bordering an international strait should cooperate on navigation safety and pollution prevention. But for decades, nobody had a practical framework for how to actually do that. The Co-operative Mechanism was the answer.
Under this framework, Singapore worked with Malaysia, Indonesia, and the IMO on projects like the Marine Electronic Highway (MEH), which links shore-based information systems to those on ships. Ships can incorporate safety and environmental data into their sailing plans in real time. Singapore also led a study on real-time under-keel monitoring in the straits.
And there’s a nice practical touch. Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Baltic and International Maritime Council worked together to produce a pamphlet for safe passage through the SOMS. Just a straightforward guide on safety measures and the unique conditions of the straits. Sometimes the most useful thing is the simplest.
Singapore also proposed the “Three Green Light Night Signals” measure for safe crossing in the Singapore Strait. After proving it worked locally, they brought it to the IMO, which adopted it as a recommended measure in 2013.
Fighting Piracy
Piracy is not just a thing from history books. It’s a real and ongoing problem, especially in Asian waters and the Horn of Africa.
The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) was the first government-to-government initiative to fight piracy in Asia. It came from an IMO initiative. The information-sharing center for ReCAAP was set up in Singapore in 2006, with Singapore providing the funding and support.
ReCAAP’s job is information sharing, capacity building, and cooperation among its members. By 2014, twenty countries had joined, including the United States.
And here’s the ripple effect. The success of ReCAAP became a model for anti-piracy cooperation in the Horn of Africa. The Djibouti Code of Conduct, signed in 2009, was modeled on the same approach. Singapore also contributed to the fight against piracy off Somalia by participating in the multinational Combined Task Force 151.
Tackling Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships
Global warming put new pressure on the shipping industry. Ships burn a lot of fuel and produce significant greenhouse gas emissions. The IMO needed to do something about it.
Singapore contributed actively at the Marine Environment Protection Committee to help find a compromise. The result was the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for operating vessels.
The negotiations were stuck because of disagreements about implementation timelines. Singapore proposed phased implementation of the EEDI regulations. The idea was to give the industry enough time to actually comply without killing progress. The proposal got widespread support and helped break the deadlock.
This was the first set of legally-binding measures the IMO ever adopted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping. That’s a first for any sector of the global economy.
Why This Chapter Matters
Singapore is one of those rare countries where shipping isn’t just an industry. It’s an identity. The port, the strait, the ship registry: these things are woven into Singapore’s economy and its relationship with the rest of the world.
This chapter shows how Singapore turned that geographic reality into influence. Being a flag state, port state, and coastal state all at once is unusual. Singapore used that triple role to bring a balanced perspective to global maritime debates. And it backed up its influence with practical contributions: training programs, safety systems, anti-piracy cooperation, and environmental solutions.
The Straits of Malacca and Singapore will only become more important as global trade grows. The work Singapore does at the IMO helps keep that waterway safe for everyone.
About the Author
Mary Seet-Cheng is Senior Specialist Advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and non-resident Ambassador of Singapore to Panama and Cuba. She served as a diplomat from 1973 to 1997, with postings in Canberra and London, and was Singapore’s Ambassador in Brussels from 1993 to 1996. She was seconded to the Maritime and Port Authority as Director of Policy in 1997, where she oversaw policy, strategic planning, and international affairs, regularly representing Singapore at IMO meetings in London. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Singapore and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
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