A high-level delegation from India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, led by Secretary Vijay Kumar, visited Tuas Port in Singapore — currently the world’s largest fully automated container terminal — to study global best practices in automation, digital port management, and cybersecurity. The delegation included Joint Secretary Venkatesapathy S (Ports, IT and E-Governance), V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority Chairperson Susanta Kumar Purohit, and High Commissioner to Singapore Dr. Shilpak N. Ambule.
Tuas Port, developed by MPA Singapore in a phased programme, represents the most advanced commercially operational model for automated stacking cranes, automated guided vehicles, and integrated digital terminal management — technologies that India’s major port modernisation blueprint envisions deploying at JNPA, Vizhinjam, and the upcoming Vadhvan Port. The delegation’s review specifically covered Tuas’s automation technologies and digital systems that enable high throughput with substantially lower labour requirements per TEU than conventional terminals — a directly relevant benchmark for India’s port productivity improvement agenda.
Cybersecurity and VOC Port Context
The delegation also focused on Singapore’s approach to cybersecurity in port operations, reflecting the growing recognition that modern port digital systems — vessel traffic management, cargo handling, customs processing — are interconnected and require robust cyber resilience. The inclusion of VOC Port Authority Chairperson Purohit is significant: VOC Port’s outer harbour expansion — currently navigating HAM tender uncertainty linked to India-EU FTA procurement criteria — would benefit directly from Tuas-level insight into what a next-generation Indian deep-water terminal should aspire to achieve operationally and digitally.
