Singapore tops the list of world's maritime centers once again

Singapore has topped the list of the world’s maritime centers for the 12th consecutive year based on the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development (ISCD) Index.

Jointly published by the Baltic Exchange and China’s Xinhua News Agency, the Xinhua-Baltic ISCD Index provides an independent benchmarking of the world’s leading maritime hubs by evaluating factors such as cargo throughput, port infrastructure, maritime services (including finance, law, and shipbroking), and the overall business environment.

Owing to “its consistent performance as one of the world’s busiest transhipment and bunkering hubs, and a well-established ecosystem of professional maritime services and expertise”, Singapore remained at the top of the list among 43 maritime cities and regions, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA Singapore) stated.

In 2024, Singapore handled a record-high 41.12 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in container throughput and saw total vessel arrival tonnage exceed 3 billion gross tons, with the Port of Singapore also remaining the world’s largest bunkering port, having supplied 54.92 million tonnes of marine fuel last year, including the sale of alternative bunker fuels which exceeded one million tonnes for