More than 300 industry leaders, academics and representatives from the maritime industry got together tonight for an appreciation dinner organised in honour of Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Defence.

The event jointly organised by the Association of Singapore Marine Industries (ASMI), the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF), the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) and the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI), was held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore. A photobook featuring Mr Lui’s involvement with the maritime industry at key events was presented by the organising committee as a token of their appreciation. Guests at the dinner included members of the shipping, offshore and marine community, some of whom had flown in especially for this event, as well as Mr Lui’s former colleagues at the Ministry of Transport.

Mr Lui’s relationship with the maritime community goes back over a decade. He was the Chief of Navy prior to taking on the role of Chief Executive at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on 1 July 2003. Mr Lui was appointed Minister for Transport on 21 May 2011, with the added portfolio as Second Minister for Defence on 9 April 2015.

Speaking on behalf of the organising committee, Mr S S Teo, Chairman of SMI (and former Chairman of SMF and SSA respectively), highlighted some of the key initiatives during Minister Lui’s term in office. These included the launch of the SMI¹ to develop Singapore as a Maritime Knowledge Hub, the development and launch of the Singapore Ship Sale Form² to better meet the Singapore and Asian maritime community’s needs, the development and launch of a Singapore War Risks Mutual³ as a national underwriting cover for Singapore flagged ships trading in high risk areas, the recognition of Singapore to represent the Asian seat of arbitration in BIMCO⁴ contracts, as well as taking the bold step for the Port of Singapore to be the first in the world to mandate the adoption of mass flow metering system⁵ for bunkering.

Mr Teo also spoke about the strong support, keen interest and commitment that the maritime industry had greatly appreciated during Mr Lui’s tenure, and how it had made a difference in the development and growth of Singapore as a global hub port and International Maritime Centre. “Your presence and willingness to join in so many of SSA and SMF’s events reflects the close partnership of the government and industry, which is the envy of many shipping associations from other countries,” said Mr Teo, in summing up the sentiments from the organising committee.

Mr Lui was also one of the pioneer Board members of SMF when it was established in 2004, as a private sector-led organisation to work alongside the MPA to engage both the shipping and marine business communities. Mr Teo added, “It was Mr Lui who brought about closer collaboration between ASMI and MPA as well as the larger maritime community through the formation of the SMF. He was broadminded and far-sighted enough to see the role that the marine and offshore engineering industry could play in Singapore’s global maritime aspirations.”