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Singapore won the 'Best Seaport in Asia' award for the 23rd time at the 25th Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards (AFSCA). The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) received the prestigious award on behalf of the port of Singapore.

Chosen above 12 other nominees from Hong Kong, Shanghai Yangshan, Busan, Klang, Kaohsiung, Laem Chabang, Tanjung Pelepas, Manila, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Dalian, the port of Singapore garnered the highest number of votes from terminal operators, freight forwarders, shipping lines and shippers from across Asia.

Singapore was recognised for her cost competitiveness, container shipping-friendly fee regime, provision of suitable container shipping-related infrastructure, timely and adequate investment in new infrastructure to meet future demand and the facilitation of ancillary services, including logistics and freight forwarding facilities.

"Winning the Best Seaport in Asia award for the 23rd time clearly affirms the confidence the maritime community has in Singapore amidst growing competition in Asia. We will continue to work in close partnership with the industry and stakeholders to develop Singapore as the port of choice in Asia, a premier global hub port and an international maritime centre," said MPA Chief Executive, Mr Lam Yi Young.

Last year, the port of Singapore continued to flourish. The container and cargo throughput recorded good growth, reaching 28.4 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) and 502.5 million tonnes respectively.

The port of Singapore also maintained its global leading position in terms of vessel arrival tonnage and bunker sales - the latter surpassing 40 million tonnes for the first time. As at the end of December 2010, the total shipping tonnage under the Singapore Registry was 48.8 million gross tonnes, once again placing Singapore amongst the top 10 ship registries in the world.