Port of Singapore, Singapore

Prior to being overtaken by the Port of Shanghai, Singapore was the world’s busiest port from 2005 to 2010.

The port’s history goes back to 1819 when it was constructed to allow the island to bring in resources and compensate for its lack of natural resources.

Today, the Port of Singapore offers connections to over 600 other ports in 123 countries on six continents, with 130,000 vessels calling at the port annually. It is also the world’s busiest transshipment port, transshipping around 20 percent of the world’s shipping containers.

Port authorities are working on developing the Tuas Port in Singapore — currently the world’s largest ongoing port project — with its first berths expected to be operational in 2021. Upon its full completion in 2040, the Tuas Port is expected to be the world’s largest fully automated container terminal with a capacity of 65 million TEUs.

The Tuas Mega Port is projected to be the only port in Singapore after the PSA city terminals and Pasir Panjang Terminal are closed in 2027 and 2040 respectively, ending an era of port operations in the city area which began in 1819. The Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM) launched by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) aims to grow the industry's value-add by $4.5 billion and create more than 5,000 new jobs by 2025.




Automation will be a key part of the new port, with over 1,000 battery-powered driverless vehicles and a fleet of almost 1,000 automated yard cranes to be developed for the port. Nelson Quek, PSA Singapore's head of Tuas planning stated that "Tuas, when it's fully developed, is going to be the single largest fully-automated terminal in the world". It will also be able to cater to the demands of the world's largest container ships, with 26 km of deep-water berths. Besides just handling containers, the port will have space set aside for companies to be located, a move that aims to improve the links between port and businesses. It is projected to be twice the size of Ang Mo Kio new town.




Operations at Tuas Mega Port began in September 2021, and the port officially opened on September 1, 2022 with three berths in service

The port is the world's busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage handled, with 1.15 billion gross tons (GT) handled in 2005. In terms of cargo tonnage, Singapore is behind Shanghai with 423 million freight tons handled. The port retains its position as the world's busiest hub for transshipment traffic in 2005, and is also the world's biggest bunkering hub, with 25 million tonnes sold in the same year.




Singapore is ranked first globally in 2005 in terms of containerised traffic, with 23.2 million Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled. High growth in containerised traffic has seen the port overtaking Hong Kong since the first quarter of 2005, and has led the race ever since, with an estimated 19,335 kTEUs handled in the year up to October, compared to 18,640 kTEUs handled in Hong Kong in the same period. A rise in regional traffic consolidating the port's position in Southeast Asia, and increases in transshipment traffic using the strategic East Asia-Europe route via Singapore helped the port to emerge tops at the end of the year, a title it had not held since overtaking Hong Kong once in 1998.