As the Director, Ops Planning, Vince is responsible to lead and support MPA’s mission in the areas of crisis planning and preparedness, port security and maritime safety culture. His division will also define future operating concepts and scenarios, and translate them into operational requirements for the purpose of capability development.

Vince Tan, who has more than 20 years in operations planning and crisis management, joined MPA as Director (Operations Planning) on 28 Mar 2022. Vince was the Head Naval Inspectorate with Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) which oversees operational safety and governance in the Navy, and had previously served as Deputy Commander of the Maritime Security Command, Director of the inter-agency National Maritime Operations Group and Operations Group Commander of the Maritime Security Task Force. As Head Naval Inspectorate, he was the RSN representative for the MPA-initiated Maritime Autonomous Ships Steering Committee as well as the National Maritime Safety at Sea Council. Vince had been on secondment to the Ministry of Health as the Director for Case Management Task Group, where he piloted the national Home Recovery Programme to support the fight against COVID-19, prior to joining MPA.

Presentation Synopsis
Keeping the Port Open During COVID-19 and Building a Resilient and Future-ready Maritime Singapore

The COVID-19 pandemic declared by the World Health Organisation WHO on 11 Mar 2020 has since caused more than 556 million cases and 6.35 million confirmed deaths, making it one of the deadliest in history. Although most countries worldwide tackled the COVID-19 pandemic by closing their borders, the maritime industry could not afford to take a pause but continued to ensure essential goods, including food, raw materials and critical equipment were able to reach consumers across the world.

Singapore is a maritime nation, and international shipping plays a key role in our economy. Singapore is the world’s second-busiest port and also the world’s busiest transhipment hub. As the Sector Lead, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is committed to ensure the Port of Singapore remains open to support global trade and supply chains.

The first part of the presentation will cover the measures put in place by MPA to reduce the transmission risk of COVID-19 as well as safeguard the lives and livelihoods of our local maritime workforce. These include prioritising vaccinations for maritime workers and seafarers, facilitating safe crew changes and extending financial support to maritime personnel and sub sectors hard hit by the pandemic. The second part of the presentation will cover global trends and how MPA and the Port of Singapore are advancing Digital and Green efforts to strengthen global supply chain resilience and be future-ready.