A study on stevedoring companies & their operations in Singapore: roll-on / roll-off shipping segment

The Port of Singapore is positioned as a premium global hub port in the Southeast Asia region, with the container transhipment business being the core involvement of the port. However, the Port of Singapore is not only a major container transhipment hub, it is also an important hub port for vehicle transhipment in the Roll-On/Roll-off shipping segment. This is accredited to Singapore’s strategic location at the nexus of major car-carrier trade routes, connecting major vehicle production countries in the East and West. However, very little is known about the stevedoring companies and stevedores behind every successful vehicle transhipment operations that happen almost daily in our port. Considering the importance of stevedores’ contribution to the seamless functioning of our ports, this paper aims to study the development of stevedoring operations in the Roll-On/Roll-Off shipping segment in Singapore over time and find out the relevance of Ro-Ro stevedores in the rapidly changing environment of Ro-Ro shipping. Also, this paper hopes to promote a better understanding of the vehicle transhipment operations through an in-depth analysis based on the following five principal factors: 1. Operations 2. Welfare & Safety Aspects 3. Technology 4. Education and Skills Requirement 5. Demographic Through this analysis, it is concluded that the role of Ro-Ro stevedores remains fundamental to the successful and smooth operations of vehicle transhipment. This is largely because there lie limited opportunities to automate processes in vehicle transhipment operations. Manpower will still be needed to operate the wheeled cargoes. As such, the long-term relevance of Ro-Ro stevedores will remain relatively high.Bachelor of Science (Maritime Studies