The global drone delivery market is expected to witness substantial growth over the next decade. Skyports’ Head of Asia Pacific Yun Yuan Tay looks at the infrastructure needed and presents the Skyports ground solution to enable high-volume, high-frequency cargo drone services.
Cargo drones are already playing an important role today in supply chains to deliver urgent and high value goods such as medical supplies The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the indispensable function that drone deliveries can play in serving poorly connected communities. The drones being used for commercial delivery worldwide is quickly increasing in numbers and complexity, but the enabling infrastructure to support high volume drone delivery is currently lacking.
Photo: Wilhelmsen
Crew change in Singapore
Singapore has banned crew change for seafarers with recent travel to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.
Following a recent travel and crew change ban for those with travel to India in the previous 14 days due to the country’s sharp spike in Covid -19 cases similar measures were announced at the weekend for those arriving Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
“Crew with recent travel history to Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka within the last 14 days preceding arrival to Singapore. This includes sign-on crew travelling to Singapore by flight as well as sign-off crew from vessels that have called at Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka,” the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in circular. The ban also covers sign on crew transiting Singapore from the four countries in the last 14 days.
Tyler Baron is CEO of Minerva Bunkering, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercuria Energy Group, one of the largest privately-owned energy and commodities companies in the world. He talked to Claudia Carpenter and Surabhi Sahu about the prospects for bunker demand, industry consolidation and the future of bunker fuels amid the energy transition.
How do you see bunkers and bunker demand shaping up for 2021?
We re expecting a continued recovery in 2021. Our volume and inquiry flow troughed late last summer and has recovered since.
If we look at 2021 going forward, by line of shipping sector, container demand has had the healthiest recovery from the COVID trough. Industry-wide TEU volume I believe ended the year down less than 2%, and consumer spending on products has continued to be very strong on the back of fiscal stimulus and reduced ability to spend on services and leisure. So we think that remains supportive as we go into 2021.
Crew change in Singapore Singapore is barring crew change for seafarers with recent travel to India following a huge spike of Covid-19 cases in the country.
Following an announcement by the Singapore authorities banning travel to Singapore for visitors and long-term pass holders to the Republic who have been in India in the previous 14 days, including transit, the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the rules also applied to crew change.
In line with the announcement on travel the MPA said in a circular the following crew change would not be allowed in Singapore:
Crew with recent travel history to India within the last 14 days preceding arrival to Singapore. This includes sign-on crew travelling to Singapore by flight as well as sign-off crew from vessels that have called at India.
Chee Hong Tat, Singapore Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Finance Six major shipowners and industry players are backing a new SGD120m ($90m) Maritime Decarbonisation Centre in Singapore.
BW Group, Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), Ocean Network Express (ONE), Foundation Det Norske Veritas, BHP and Sembcorp Marine signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Wednesday morning to establish a fund to set up the decarbonisation centre.
Each partner private sector partner will contribute SGD10m to the fund to support the setting up of the centre and research projects with the MPA adding SGD60m to bring total initial funding to SGD120m.