Singapore port breaks 40 million teu barrier in 2024Singapore port breaks 40 million teu barrier in 2024

Breaking the 40 million teu barrier before the end of the year PSA Singapore is set to report a record volume for 2024, with its previous annual high being 38.8 million teu handled in 2023.

PSA Singapore handles virtually all the containers that pass through the Port of Singapore, the world’s largest transhipment hub.

Ong Kim Pong, Group CEO, PSA International, said, “This record throughput for PSA’s flagship terminal in Singapore is a remarkable milestone and exemplifies our commitment to keep global trade flowing.”

While volumes were high in Singapore in 2024 it was not all plain sailing and in May/June last year congestion was seen at the city state’s container terminals as it struggled to cope with a bunching of vessel arrivals caused by the rerouting of ships from the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope. Container ships were reported to be waiting seven days to berth with some skipping call as a result.

In response to the situation PSA reactivated decommissioned berths in older terminals and accelerated bringing on stream new capacity in Tuas Port.

Nelson Quek, Regional CEO Southeast Asia, PSA International, said, “In what has been an eventful year for the industry, this achievement cements PSA Singapore’s position as the world’s transhipment hub of choice."

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Globally PSA could hit another landmark for 2024 with Group CEO Ong saying at TOC Asia in late November that it might hit 100 million teu handled for the year from its worldwide operations including Singapore.

Illustrating the scale of this volume he said that if you lined up 100 million containers end-to-end they would encircle the earth some 15 times.

Looking ahead following the 40 million teu announcement for PSA Singapore, Ong said, "Building on this positive momentum, we will strive to strengthen the synergies between our port operations and port-adjacent services, connecting our strategic nodes to create a more cohesive and integrated port ecosystem in line with PSA’s Node to Network strategy."