Port authorities from Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and the US, have signed a declaration on their collective response to disruption, digitalisation, and decarbonisation at the 6th Port Authorities Roundtable (PAR).

Hosted by the Antwerp Port Authority, the virtual event held on June 22-23 had 19 port authorities sign the declaration as they discussed issues on disruption, digitalisation, and decarbonisation facing the maritime industry, and how port authorities should remain agile, adaptable, and innovative in response to the challenges.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), for its part, called on PAR members to also strengthen collaboration on safe crew change, cyber resilience and response, as well as decarbonisation of the maritime sector.

"The declaration recognised work by the Singapore Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience (SG-STAR) Fund, the first global tripartite initiative established in 2020 on safe crew changes, through the CrewSafe audit programme to bring a higher level of confidence and quality control checks into crew change processes," the MPA said.

"The declaration also reflected PAR members’ agreement to consider joining the Port Authorities CIO Cybersecurity Network (PACC-Net), established by MPA, to foster collaboration on maritime cybersecurity as a global network to facilitate early sharing of cyber threat information and enable timely responses to such threats," it added.

In the statement, MPA noted that port authorities also agreed to consider collaborating with MPA and like-minded stakeholders on maritime decarbonisation solutions through the maritime decarbonisation centre to be set up in Singapore, as well as overseas decarbonisation centres. 

"The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of digitalisation and ports have adapted to quickly harness technology for contactless operations. The plight of seafarers amidst tightened border restrictions also has implications on global trade and their health and safety," said MPA’s chief executive Quah Ley Hoon.

"The PAR is an important platform for port authorities to come together to leverage each other’s experience and expertise to tackle these challenges," she added, noting that the declaration is an important step forward to push forth with digitalisation and decarbonisation solutions in the face of disruption.