Singapore's elder statesman sends environmental message

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

28 Sep 2007

Environmental sustainability is a key issue for the maritime industry, according to Singapore's elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew. MM Lee wants Singapore to maintain a strong maritime sector Minister Mentor Lee, after delivering his inaugural maritime lecture in Singapore yesterday, spoke to top maritime executives from around the world in an hour-long question-and-answer session. He highlighted the problem of harmful ships' emissions from the burning of high-viscosity, high sulphur bunker fuel.''High sulphur content bunker oil is a major pollutant. It's a question of cost,'' he said, referring to the expense of extracting sulphur from the fuel. A challenge for Singapore's maritime sector was to stay competitive without compromising environmental sustainability, MM Lee stressed. Turning to climate change and global warming, he said the eagerness of China and India to industrialise swiftly presented a tough challenge.''On global warming, the world needs global solutions to the challenges of climate change and sustainable development.  These developments will affect shipping,'' said MM Lee. Rising temperatures in the northern hemisphere were melting the Arctic ice cap, opening the possibility of a new route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ''In the next few decades, shipping lanes between the Pacific and Atlantic may switch to these Arctic routes during the summer season,'' he said.MM Lee said Singapore's maritime industry remained vital to Singapore's growth.''I'm a strong believer in a maritime hub,'' he said. ''You can relocate an aviation hub easily but it's very difficult to relocate a maritime hub.'' MM Lee called a well-established maritime sector a basic. ''I believe in the basics, and the rest will look after itself. Singapore's maritime industry is [one of ] the basics,'' he said. Singapore's maritime sector contributed 7.5% of Singapore's GDP in 2005.