BMT marine survey and consulting services poised for further growth

Through over 20 years of operations in the Asia Pacific region, we have boosted industrial collaboration and strategic partnerships to position the business for continued growth through maritime consulting opportunities.

A combination of robust demand, coupled with the extension of government incentives to these ancillary services, has contributed to the dynamic momentum of the entire industry – in Singapore alone, P&I, H&M and Cargo premiums have served as catalyst factors to grow demand for marine surveys and consulting services.

Adding to this market momentum is the increase in Asian trade in recent years, leading to a corresponding rise in demand from ship and cargo owners for surveys. To tap into this growing market, an increasing number of marine surveyors, including our own, have ‘set up shop’ in Singapore, attracted by its stable political and pro-business environment. 

In the last two decades, Singapore has built a vibrant maritime ecosystem underpinned by over 40% of global shipping tonnage coming from the Asia Pacific.  These vessel volumes are especially relevant to South-East Asian countries more deeply integrated into the world’s trade supply chains through regional preferential trade agreements.

Specialist marine consultants, like us, have been exploiting these growth opportunities in the Asia Pacific region for over two decades and have a fully established maritime survey offering, including marine investigations serving P&I and H&M markets and cargo underwriters and lawyers providing expert witness in litigation. The expanded office presence for our marine surveying business in Singapore and its array of complete sector services offerings will lend well to meeting growing export demand from South East Asia and as powerhouse economies emerge.

We can also leverage the expertise of over 1,000 maritime experts globally.

Said Managing Director of BMT’s Survey’s business Dennis de Bruin.

“Having a full-service office in Singapore allows us to help existing global customers as they grow, and to attract new business opportunities to the world's premier maritime hub. More crucially, underpinning all of this is the stability that Singapore provides our global BMT business operations with – thus empowering our people and partners to operate from a politically stable and well-regulated platform to transact business with both developed and developing markets in the Asia-Pacific region, which is leading the world in economic growth. For mature companies like BMT, the advantage we gain from being able to utilise our marine surveying network to Singapore and to the Asia Pacific market, the need to be close to the large, vibrant, domestic and international shipping community that resides in Singapore, and the credibility and kudos that it provides, is integral to our global offering.”

These components allow the business to provide “the best service possible” for its customers and industrial partners.

Said, de Bruin.

“By continuing to grow our presence in Singapore, we can ensure that we do this for our Southeast Asia membership. In addition, we want to continue to attract quality operators and new venture opportunities to our hub, which we believe will be enhanced by our continued presence in Singapore and will permit BMT to scale-up its business.”

Value-add Capability and Innovation offerings primed for exponential growth in Asian-Pacific countries

Over the past decade, in an increasingly connected ‘P&I club’ marketplace, Singapore also serves as the gateway to Asia-Pacific for leading marine consultants and surveyors, fueled in part by the growth in marine markets including Hull and Machinery Cargo, Fire and Explosion and P & I business.

The marine consulting services Asia platform in Singapore is home to approximately 20 service companies. A strong network of surveyors and strategic partners supports Hull & Machinery and P&I providers in Singapore, including global market leaders such as us.

Through the group’s long maritime heritage, experience, and legacy maritime operations, the office in Singapore is well-equipped with product knowledge. It can offer bespoke services in marine and across adjacent industries. As the consultancy continues to serve and grow its traditional markets across the strategic office locations Rotterdam, Antwerp, Amsterdam and Geneva, experts will also address client demand for Asia Pacific consulting services opportunities and anchor utilisation of other innovations region.

To strengthen Singapore’s marine consulting services hub, and as the world embrace’s the exciting changes within the shipping industry, we intend to be at the forefront of the technological change underway, with digital platforms and data analytics playing a more significant role.

The shipping industry, especially during pandemic times, is going through a period of enormous transition, which presents both risks and opportunities for its customers. Therefore, our role is to guide and assist customers in navigating this changing environment, from technological developments to the shifting regulatory landscape, such as the impact of IMO 2020.

With the region offering more high-quality consultancy services and products and the internal drive toward a new generation of technologies designed to optimise operational efficiency, more intelligent and innovative systems are being tested and receiving recognition from marine markets throughout the Asian Pacific.  BMT’s new marine geospatial digital data fusion technology is one such exemplary technology.

Inspired by a ‘smart sustainability grid,’ our new marine geospatial digital data fusion technology recently won acceptance from the UK’s Hydrographic Office (UKHO) ADMIRALTY Marine Innovation Programme challenge. Last year, the unveiling of the cutting-edge navigation technology to a government stakeholder revealed our combined and proven BMT REMBRANDT® and TUFLOW® simulation technologies being tested for a commercial maritime mission in the UK’s sovereign waters.

For the UKHO demonstration, the algorithms of the two technologies were stitched together to enhance autonomous operations planning for operators in highly congested waters, thus empowering remote-controlled/crewed vessel pilotage and marine sense-making systems for safer and efficient port operations.

There are several new and exciting applications that BMT’s raison d’etre of computer-powered scientific simulation technology, BMT REMBRANDT, is exploring, including a next-generation vessel traffic management system that can predict congestion hotspots and assists vessel route planning.

The Singaporean expansion also serves as a springboard for us to position our vital brand/service differentiators.

The strong performance in the group’s marine consultancy services comes on the back of investments made to build momentum in those sectors. It is also a reflection of the industry’s continued development in Asia. Our energy consultancy activities have continued vigour in other adjacent markets, which is a solid achievement off the back of significant volatility in oil price. Several contracts wins announced last year had reflected the group’s ability to work with different operators and newer entrants to a region.

“Despite headwinds presented by the pandemic, commodity price volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, we have managed to deliver an unparalleled service for our customers by being flexible, seeking innovative solutions and having a long-standing track record of excellence which I believe augurs well for the future.”

Said, de Bruin.

“Driven by the innovation focus at BMT, our geographically-colocated and globally dispersed teams of technical consultants have expanded expertise in decarbonisation, hybrid-propulsion systems and fuel-cell technology”

Said Olivier van der Kruijs, Technical Director at BMT Surveys in Rotterdam.

“Alongside this, we continue to develop our work in the core market marine consultancy for H&M and P&I, services we have been delivering to clients in the insurance markets for decades. The in-house expertise that can be sourced within the BMT group is a valuable addition to these services.  That said, Singapore will continue to grow as a strong Asian marine consulting services hub.  It is inevitable that, as the country continues to attract shipping companies to set up businesses here, the ship surveying business will grow alongside. As the shipping markets recover, I believe there will be strong growth in South-east Asia - in fact; some already consider Singapore the epicentre of Asia’s maritime services industry.”