Singapore Maritime Week 2026 opens, celebrating 20 years of maritime thought leadership

The Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) 2026 was officially launched yesterday by Mr Jeffrey Siow, Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance. This year marks SMW’s 20th edition – reflecting two decades of convening global maritime leaders, shaping ideas and advancing the industry.

Organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the annual event is taking place from 20 to 24 April this year, and brings together more than 20,000 participants from close to 80 countries and regions, including Ministers, senior government officials, industry leaders and maritime professionals. Participants will exchange views on shared challenges and practical pathways forward for international shipping.

At the opening ceremony, Mr Siow announced the launch of OCEANS-X, a new data and Application Programming Interface (API) eXchange platform developed by MPA to enable secure system-to-system connectivity across the maritime ecosystem and more efficient port services, which will strengthen Singapore’s role as a global hub port and international maritime centre.

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Gan Kim Yong, delivered the Singapore Maritime Lecture at the opening of SMW 2026. Mr Gan also took part in a fireside chat, moderated by Ms Yong Hsin Yue, Managing Director, Kuok Group Singapore. Topics discussed included geopolitical and global trade shifts, structural transformations in areas like digitalisation and decarbonisation, and the ability of maritime hubs to navigate these changes in an increasingly fragmented world.

Among the notable attendees at SMW 2026 is Mr Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, who will share perspectives on advancing collective outcomes for global shipping amid differing national priorities. The Ministerial Roundtable, hosted by Mr Jeffrey Siow, will bring together Ministers and heads of maritime organisations from 10 countries to discuss collective actions on sustainability, digitalisation, and regulatory cooperation.

The wider conference programme draws perspectives from industry, finance, logistics, sustainability and classification societies. Discussions will cover issues including maritime decarbonisation, digital transformation and innovation, as well as cybersecurity, financing, and workforce transformation.

EXPO@SMW is taking place from 21 to 23 April as the exhibition pillar of SMW. It gathers stakeholders from across the maritime ecosystem to showcase innovative solutions, emerging technologies and collaborative projects supporting the industry’s transformation. A key highlight is the Maritime SG Showcase themed ‘From Research to Reality: Reimagining Ports and Ships’, featuring projects such as the Maritime Digital Twin Live Simulation Platform, OCEANS-X Digital Platform and other industry-academia research projects led by the Singapore Maritime Institute. The Tech Village will also feature start-ups from across the maritime ecosystem. EXPO@SMW is open to the public.

The PIER71TM Smart Port Challenge (SPC) 2026 will also be launched at SMW 2026 on 22 April at EXPO@SMW. Now in its 10th edition, the annual global competition invites startups, both local and foreign, to develop innovative solutions addressing key challenges and opportunities in the maritime industry. Mr Murali Pillai, Senior Minister of State for Transport, will officiate at the event and deliver a speech.

SMW will also reach out to youths through initiatives such as Youth@SMW and Talent Pavilion at EXPO@SMW on 23 April.

In other news, MPA and the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) launched the new edition of the Singapore Maritime Technology & Research Roadmap during SMW 2026.

The previous roadmap, published in 2019, had set the direction for a more advanced, efficient and sustainable maritime sector, and paved the way for the establishment of maritime Centres of Excellence and the implementation of the Maritime Transformation Programme.

The 2026 roadmap builds on this foundation, and sharpens the focus on translating research into deployable solutions. It sets out key areas to strengthen resilience, improve productivity, and catalyse innovation across Singapore's maritime ecosystem. Priorities include advancing digital technologies at scale, supporting practical decarbonisation pathways, and improving integration across port and shipping operations, while addressing structural constraints such as manpower requirements, and land and sea space limitations.

The roadmap sets out four key areas for action:

-   Autonomous port operation

-   Safe and efficient delivery of alternative energy

-   Smart ships, and

-  Intelligent and integrated port services

By defining priority areas, it aligns efforts across the government, research institutions and the industry to accelerate adoption and reduce implementation risks. Industry partners are encouraged to co-develop and pilot solutions, contribute operational insights, and support the scaling of proven technologies.

Over $100m will be invested into the research and development (R&D) of the four priority areas over the next five years. This will build on the more than $500 million in funds that have been allocated to pursue maritime R&D in Singapore over the past 20 years.

The roadmap has been informed by consultations with industry and research stakeholders, including a workshop in 2025 to identify key priorities across near-, medium- and long-term horizons. The Singapore Maritime Technology & Research Roadmap, 2026 edition, will be available as an e-Book and can be accessed at https://www.maritimeinstitute.sg/tech-research-roadmap/.