Country Listing  Singapore Table of Contents    In 1988 the port
of Singapore was the world's busiest in terms of shipping
tonnage (396.4 million gross registered tons), just ahead of
Rotterdam. Singapore was also a major transshipment hub and a
global warehousing and central distribution center. In 1988 more
than 36,000 vessels arrived in Singapore, up 6 percent from the
previous year. The 150 million freight tons of cargo handled by
the wharves and oil terminals represented an increase of 16
percent over the previous year.  Ships of more than 700 lines
linked Singapore and the region to some 600 ports worldwide. The
port area was administered by the Port of Singapore Authority, a
statutory board responsible for the provision and maintenance of
facilities and services and for the control of navigational
traffic in the port. Operations were continuous, round the clock
and year round. As a member of the International Maritime
Organization since 1966, Singapore kept abreast of international
developments in ship