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Bunker sales in Singapore declined by 1.2 percent in 2012, according to data released by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), thus ending the nine-year consecutive streak of volume increases at the world's leading bunker port.

Sales volumes in Singapore fell by 0.5 million tonnes to 42.7 million tonnes last year, down from 43.2 million tonnes in 2011. It is the first time since 2002 that year-on-year bunker volumes have decreased.

Overall, Singapore recorded positive results in 2012. Despite the uncertain economic climate and the challenges faced by the global maritime industry, the port continued to maintain its global lead in annual vessel arrival tonnage and bunker sales, and achieved good growth in container and cargo throughput.

For the first time, container throughput crossed the 30 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) milestone in 2012. The Singapore Registry of Ships also continued to grow in size and ranks among the top 10 worldwide.

The advance estimates of Singapore's port performance were announced by Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Transport, at the Singapore Maritime Foundation New Year cocktail reception yesterday, January 10.

Vessel Arrival Tonnage

Annual vessel arrival tonnage reached a record high of 2.25 billion gross tons (GT) in 2012, an increase of 6.1 percent from the 2.12 billion GT achieved in 2011. Tankers and container ships were the top contributors, accounting for 30.8 percent and 30.4 percent of the total vessel arrival tonnage respectively.

Container and Cargo Throughput

Container throughput reached a record high of 31.6 million TEUs in 2012, a 5.7 per cent increase over the 29.9 million TEUs achieved in 2011. Total cargo tonnage handled last year rose by 1.2 percent compared to 2011 to reach 537.6 million tonnes, also a new record for the port of Singapore.

The Singapore Registry of Ships

The Singapore Registry of Ships recorded positive figures in 2012. The total tonnage of ships under the register grew by 13.2 per cent, or 7.7 million GT, in 2012. As of the end of December 2012, the total tonnage of ships under the Singapore flag was 65.0 million GT, putting Singapore among the top 10 ship registries in the world.

Please find below a table of bunker sales volumes in Singapore between 2000 and 2012.

Year	Bunker Sales (million tonnes)
2000	18.6
2001	20.3
2002	20.1
2003	20.8
2004	23.6
2005	25.5
2006	28.4
2007	31.5
2008	34.9
2009	36.4
2010	40.9
2011	43.2
2012	42.7

Details of the port of Singapore's other performance indicators are below.

Year	Vessel Arrivals	Container Throughput	Cargo Throughput	Registry
2005	1.15	23.2	423.3	33.0
2006	1.31	24.8	448.5	34.8
2007	1.46	27.9	483.6	39.6
2008	1.62	29.9	515.4	43.7
2009	1.78	25.9	472.3	45.6
2010	1.92	28.4	503.3	48.8
2011	2.12	29.9	531.2	57.4
2012	2.25	31.6	537.6	65.0

* Vessel Arrivals (billion gross tonnes)
* Container Throughput (million TEUs)
* Cargo Throughput (million tonnes)
* Singapore Registry of Ships (million gross tonnes)