Speech by 2M Tan See Leng at the Launch of the Marine and Offshore Energy Industry Plan

Mr Simon Kuik, President, ASMI, 

Ms Caroline Yang, President, Singapore Shipping Association, 

Mr Tommy Goh, President, Shipbuilders and Marine Engineering Employees’ Union (SMEEU),

Ladies and gentlemen,

1. A very good evening to all. Thank you, ASMI, for inviting me here today to launch the Marine and Offshore Energy Industry Plan, or M&O Industry Plan in short. 

2. Singapore’s M&O sector has a long and storied history that mirrors Singapore’s nation building journey. 

   1. Over the past decades, you have weathered through cycles of economic booms and busts – from the global financial crisis in the late 2000s, to the oil and gas downturn in 2010s, the offshore energy boom, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic. And each time, you have successfully transformed and emerged stronger as an industry.  

   2. Today, our M&O sector is a source of pride. We are a world-class marine and offshore energy hub with a vibrant cluster of more than 1,000 companies, comprising both globally competitive SMEs and large homegrown firms.

Rationale for the M&O Industry Plan 

3. Yet, even as the industry picks itself up post-pandemic, it is now reaching another inflexion point. The world is now a more troubled one, with more uncertainties that we have to navigate through. Specific to the M&O sector, several structural headwinds are imminent.

   1. As the global energy transition gathers momentum, growth opportunities abound in areas such as offshore wind. However, companies will also need to rethink their current operating models, which is largely labour-intensive and dependent on oil and gas;

   2. Regionally, the emergence of more cost-competitive international players from China and South Korea will challenge our leadership in shipyard operations; and 

   3. Domestically, our ageing population will affect the future profile of the M&O workforce. 

4. To stay ahead in such times, the only answer is to transform, just like you have done in the past. Importantly, we also want the industry to transform with a clear purpose, and with an end in mind. 

5. This is what the M&O Industry Plan seeks to achieve. 

   1. It sets out our goal for Singapore to become a globally impactful and thriving M&O hub by 2030, and provides a clear roadmap to achieve this.

   2. Developed by EnterpriseSG and ASMI, this plan builds on the good work done as part of an earlier M&O Industry Transformation Map, or ITM, released in 2018. It aims to push the sector towards productivity-led growth, by playing to win in high growth areas and providing quality jobs for local workers.

Three Bearings for the Industry Plan

6. Allow me to elaborate on our plans to steer the industry towards becoming that thriving M&O hub. Similar to how marine bearings are key components of vessel propulsion systems, we have identified three key “bearings” that the industry needs to continue sailing forward: 

   1. First, to chart new courses in growth areas;

   2. Second, to master the seas so firms can scale internationally; and 

   3. Third, to raise the tide to uplift local workers and businesses. 

Bearing 1: Chart New Courses

7. Let me start with the first bearing on “charting new courses”.

8. As mentioned earlier, the global energy transition is here to stay, and it presents opportunities for companies to carve out new competitive niches. The two key areas that our companies are well poised to grow in are offshore wind, and maritime decarbonisation solutions.

9. In fact, we already have a competitive edge in the global offshore wind industry. 

   1. Thanks to their existing capabilities, which can be applied to offshore renewables, our companies are emerging as leading partners for offshore wind projects in the APAC region and beyond. 

   2. In 2024 alone, Singapore companies secured more than 30 new projects across Europe and Asia Pacific.  

10. For maritime decarbonisation, our strength lies in exporting related solutions and technologies. Companies leading in vessel retrofitting and MRO contracts have been expanding their offerings to include decarbonisation solutions that are in high demand, for exports into markets like Japan and the UK. 

    1. Sea Forrest is one such example – it has developed hybrid and full electric propulsion systems and energy storage solutions that allows vessel owners to cut emissions without compromising operating efficiency.

11. Yet, even as we continue to build our strengths across the two areas mentioned, developments in the M&O energy space remain dynamic. I encourage businesses to continue looking outfor niches that we can develop an edge in, and partner us to move the industry forward.  

Bearing 2: Master the Seas

12. A big part of our strategy to “chart new courses” will ride on the existing capabilities and advantages that we have built up in the M&O sector over the years. This will be important too for our second bearing on “mastering the seas”, where we encourage promising companies to grow and scale internationally. 

13. Singapore has always prided ourselves on our connectivity to the rest of the world, especially in terms of the good bilateral relationships and active partnerships we have with other countries. 

    1. M&O businesses including the likes of Seatrium and Mooreast, have used this to their benefit and succeeded in making their mark globally.

    2. We are also seeing companies harness our regional networks, such as PaxOcean, which has established a presence in Batam and China, and manages them from its home base in Singapore.

14. This is an encouraging trend. For the industry to become globally competitive in new business frontiers, it is imperative that more firms expand their overseas presence. As part of the Industry Plan, we will support our promising and ambitious firms to venture out of Singapore, and tailor the support depending on their level of readiness. 

    1. Companies which are exploring market opportunities and gathering business leads can consider reaching out to ASMI or EnterpriseSG to participate in industry conferences. These can be Singapore-based events, such as Offshore Southeast Asia and Singapore Maritime Week, or regional ones like the upcoming Wind Expo event in Tokyo.

    2. Companies who are keen to collaborate with foreign companies on R&D projects, or testbed and develop tech-related solutions can tap on EnterpriseSG’s Co-Innovation Programme to connect with overseas partners. 

    3. Of course, not forgetting additional support available for companies looking to set up operations in new markets, through EnterpriseSG’s Enterprise Financing Scheme and Scale-Up programme. These schemes provide companies with the necessary resources – be it funding, access, or networks – to find their footing in overseas markets. 

Bearing 3: “Raise the Tide”

15. Finally, even while we focus on the growth areas of today and opportunities for our companies abroad, we continue to keep our eyes on the horizon and prepare ourselves for the waves that may come tomorrow. This is what the third bearing is about – we want to “raise the tide” and uplift our capabilities as a sector. 

16. We are already moving towards this direction, through the M&O Support Package announced at MTI’s COS 2024. 

    1. Through the package, we will provide close to S$100million in funding to M&O companies through existing schemes such as the Enterprise Development Grant and WSG’s Career Conversion Programme, or CCP in short.

    2. These are meant to support companies in building new capabilities such as digitalisation, or training their people to more nimbly meet the needs of the identified growth areas. 

    3. Last year, agencies have provided around S$14 million to M&O companies. 

17. Under the industry plan, one of the key thrusts to uplift the sector is through workforce development.

    1. At the heart of every industry is its workforce. As the Manpower Minister, I cannot emphasise enough on the need to upskill and reskill our workforce, regardless of any industry you are in. 

    2. I am glad that we have ASMI’s support in driving workforce development for the M&O industry.

18. As programme partner for the Marine Decarbonisation and Digitalisation Champions, ASMI has onboarded around 130 employees from over 60 companies to participate in upskilling efforts. 

    1. For example, two programme participants from Penguin International have since undergone a jobredesign under WSG’s CCP. One of them has moved from the company’s commercial department to the sustainability department, and the other is now able to look at green vessels and decarbonisation efforts in their project design and engineering role.

    2. Another participant, the general manager of operations, from Six Alliance Subsea also benefitted from the job redesign process under WSG’s CCP, andis now driving the development and adoption of digital systems and cybersecurity practices in the same role.

    3. In both cases, the CCPs helped to accelerate employee reskilling and business transformation efforts. Companies also benefitted from WSG’s salary support of up to 70% for eligible CCP participants, and up to 90% for mature employees during the job redesign process. Overall, more than 370 individuals participated in the CCP for M&O sector in 2024.

Conclusion

19. Transformation will be a long-term effort and a culmination of various milestones, including the work done for the first ITM, today’s Industry Plan, and further initiatives down the line. 

20. The “bearings” we have laid out today may also change depending on global developments, but what will not change is our continued support for the sector, as well as the grit and ingenuity of our M&O community. 

21. I am confident that with your support, we will be in good stead to become as a globally impactful and thriving M&O hub by 2030. Thank you.