Experts from across the shipping industry, academia, and national borders gathered inSingapore for the future of container shipping

On August 3, 2023, the second Container Shipping Summit was held in Singapore, hosted by Ocean Network Express Ltd PTE (ONE) and attended by sixteen experts from universities,
research institutes and industry associations from Japan and Singapore. Singapore is one of the world's leading maritime cities and a major hub for container shipping It is a uniquely international city and is the home of Ocean Network Express PTE, Ltd.

On the day of the summit, the venue was packed with nearly 100 participants, each wearing gifted magenta-colored windbreakers reinforcing the importance of unity and equality of all attending the summit as well as creating some great images of the participants in ONEʼs favorite color Magenta!

The summit began with a welcome address from Jeremy Nixon, CEO of ONE, who shared his views on the importance of teamwork and collaboration between both public and private sectors, academia and the industry, using shared knowledge and best practice to address challenges ahead for the benefit of not just ONE, but the entire industry.

The summitʼs guests of honor, Mr. Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary of Ministry of Transport in Singapore, and Mr. Koji Ishikawa, Ambassador of Japan to Singapore delivered their congratulatory and encouraging speeches. Mr. Baey thanked ONE for its contributions to Maritime Singapore over the years, particularly in supporting the nationʼs digitalPORT@SG, cybersecurity initiatives, and championing the development of maritime talent through internship and talent management programs. And Mr. Ishikawa said: “I am convinced that action and cooperation between Japan and Singapore will make a significant leap forward in the shipping industry in the future”.

After a tea break, the participating experts introduced their latest research projects. From Japan; Kyushu University, Kobe University, Takushoku University, the University of Tokyo, and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology participated and from rom Singapore, National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and Singapore Management University (SMU). We were also very pleased to welcome experts from SMF (Singapore Maritime Foundation), the Global Center for Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD), and PSA.

Some of the key topics presented are listed below.

• ・An integrated model for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in shipping
• ・Container freight rate forecasting using deep learning
• ・Optimization of container cargo handling through the use of digital twins
• ・Autonomous vessel operation systems
• ・Next-generation fuels for marine transportation

Heated discussions were held on the four themes.

In the afternoon, group discussions, the main feature of the Summit, began. The four themes for discussion at this year's summit were: Research and Development ("R&D) in Terminal,port, and Ship Technologies, Optimizing the Container Shipping Supply Chain, EnhancingESG Measurement in the Container Shipping, and Maritime Talent Development. To explore specific collaboration possibilities through the summit, these themes were further subdivided, and the discussion times were extended in comparison with the first t summit in Japan.

The conference rooms at ONEʼs headquarters were used as the venue for the discussion groups. In each group, the discussions began with ONEʼs colleagues explaining the challenges of the groups given theme, following which, passionate discussions, brainstorming and productive collaboration ensued.

ONEʼs employees and guests were invited join the discussions group which s continued for more than two hours., After the individual discussions concluded, all attendees joined together and each group introduced the details of their discussion, points raised (both positive and negative) and suggested proposals and the actions required.

Through the ideas and collaborations that emerged from this summit, ONE will further accelerate its collaboration with research institutions and other stakeholders in the shipping industry.

By providing a platform that transcends the boundaries of industry, academia, and even national borders, we will encourage discussions and collaboration towards the development of our industry as a whole and resolution of the challenges faced. Together we will explore the possibility of further contributions to the container shipping industry and society.