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SINGAPORE MARITIME SERVICES GUIDE 2017/2018
Sea Asia – Asia’s Premier Maritime Event
Sea Asia is the Foundation’s flagship event and the anchor event of the Singapore Maritime Week. Co-organised with maritime event organiser Seatrade, the biennial meet has grown in scale and scope since its debut in 2007, as industry luminaries have seen the value of attending the event to do business, network and unveil new products and services.
The number of participants has more than doubled to 16,185 from 85 different countries in 2015, making Sea Asia the largest maritime event in Asia. Over the span of five shows, the nett exhibition space has more than tripled to 8,674 square metres.
SCMA: The Asian Centre for Dispute Resolution
The Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) provides a framework for maritime arbitration responsive to the needs of the maritime community. An independent body overseen by a board of directors, the chamber draws members from all sectors of the maritime community and from all countries.
As a maritime arbitration centre, Singapore has much to offer the shipping community, among which are its attractive legal costs, consistency in standards, integrity, an impartial justice system and ready access to support services such as banking, communications and insurance. Singapore is also a signatory to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, making awards secured in Singapore internationally enforceable.
The chamber was established in 2004, under the management of the Singapore
International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), to complement the multitude of maritime services in Singapore. As a key hub port and commercial centre with a strong maritime tradition, it was felt then that Singapore was well-placed to be an international centre for the dispute resolution process of world shipping.
The Working Group on Maritime Arbitration led by Dato' Jude Benny, Partner, Joseph Tan Jude Benny was formed within SMF to chart the way forward. Working in collaboration with the SIAC, the Singapore Maritime Arbitrators Association (SMAA), the Maritime Lawyers Association of Singapore (MLAS) and the Singapore Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (SIARB), SCMA was created within the SIAC. In May 2009, it was reconstituted and officially taken over by SMF.
In November 2012, BIMCO included Singapore as an arbitration seat alongside London and New York in the BIMCO Standard Dispute Resolution Clause for its standard forms. As BIMCO is the largest international shipping association representing shipowners and its standard forms are used as a basis for over 70% of the world’s contracts for maritime trade, the decision has raised the SCMA’s stature as an international centre for dispute resolution.
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