BMT's Marine Survey and Consulting Services Poised for Further Growth

Over the course of more than 20 years of operations in the Asia Pacific region, BMT has increased industrial collaboration and strategic partnerships to position its business for continued growth in maritime consulting.

Robust demand and extended government incentives have contributed to the dynamic momentum of the entire shipping industry in Southeast Asia. Adding to this market momentum is the increase in Asian trade, which has led 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 BMT, have "set up shop" in Singapore, attracted by its stable political and pro-business environment. 

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

BMT has been building on these growth opportunities in the Asia Pacific region for over two decades. The firm has a fully established maritime survey offering, including marine investigations serving P&I and H&M markets as well as cargo underwriters, lawyers and expert witness services for litigation. The expanded office presence for BMT Marine Surveys in Singapore means that the company is ready to support the booming growth of Southeast Asia's shipping industry. 

BMT can also leverage the expertise of more than 1,000 maritime experts globally, which means that its customers have access to a range of capabilities, including marine surveys (technical, nautical, cargo, fire and explosion), naval architecture, specialist engineering, environmental coastal science and more. 

“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.” said Suba Sivandran, BMT Managing Director, Asia.

“Singapore is the perfect base to be a part of this future. 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.” said Managing Director of BMT’s Survey’s business Dennis de Bruin.

For BMT’s de Bruin, all these components allow the business to provide “the best service possible” for its customers and industrial partners. “By continuing to grow our presence in Singapore, we can ensure that we do this for our South-east 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.”

Investment and innovation set the stage for exponential growth in the Asia-Pacific market

Over the past decade, in an increasingly connected P&I club marketplace, Singapore has served as the gateway to the Asia-Pacific for leading marine consultants and surveyors. The marine consulting services Asia platform in Singapore is home to approximately 20 service companies, and hull and machinery and P&I providers in Singapore are supported by a strong network of surveyors and strategic partners. These include global market leaders like BMT.

Through the BMT Group’s long maritime heritage, experience and legacy maritime operations, the office in Singapore is well placed to offer bespoke services in maritime and adjacent industries. In Europe, as the consultancy continues to serve and grow its traditional markets across its strategic locations in Rotterdam, Antwerp, Amsterdam and Geneva, its experts also help address demand for Asia-Pacific consulting services.

To strengthen Singapore’s marine consulting services hub, BMT intends to be at the forefront of the technological change, with digital platforms and data analytics playing a larger role. The industry is going through a period of enormous transition, which presents both risks and opportunities for its customers. BMT’s role is therefore to guide and assist customers in navigating this changing environment, from technological developments to the shifting regulatory landscape, including the impact of IMO 2020.

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

Inspired by a "smart sustainability grid," this new technology from BMT recently won acceptance from the UK’s Hydrographic Office (UKHO) ADMIRALTY Marine Innovation Programme challenge. At the unveiling of the cutting-edge navigation technology for a government stakeholder last year, BMT’s combined and proven REMBRANDT® and TUFLOW® simulation technologies were tested for a commercial maritime mission in 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.

There are a number of new and exciting applications that BMT's REMBRANDT® team is exploring, including a next-generation vessel traffic management system that is able to predict congestion hotspots and assist vessel route planning.

The Singaporean expansion also serves as a springboard for BMT to position its key brand and service differentiators. The strong performance in the group’s marine consultancy services are the result of the investments the firm has made to build momentum in those sectors. Several contract-wins announced last year show the group’s ability to work with multiple operators and newer entrants to the 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-collocated and globally dispersed teams of technical consultants have expanded expertise in decarbonization, 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 an extremely valuable addition to these services."

“Singapore will continue to grow as a strong Asian marine consulting services hub,” added de Bruin. “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 Southeast Asia - in fact, some already consider Singapore the epicenter of Asia’s maritime services industry.”

To contact the Singapore Survey Team please email, [email protected] or call +65 6517 6800.

This post is sponsored by BMT Group.