Port of LA and Singapore Strengthen Maritime Ties

The Port of Los Angeles and the ports of Singapore have agreed to work more closely together to solve big problems in global shipping. The two sides renewed a partnership deal in April that focuses on cleaner fuels and better technology. Leaders say the cooperation is needed because trade wars, extreme weather, and conflicts at sea are putting pressure on shipping routes around the world.

More than 80 percent of global trade travels by sea, moving everything from electronics and clothing to oil and grain. Los Angeles and Singapore sit on opposite ends of the trans-Pacific route, which is the world's busiest container shipping lane. When that route runs smoothly, store shelves stay stocked and prices stay stable for people everywhere.

Eugene Seroka is the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, which is the biggest container port in the United States. He says the shipping system is under a lot of pressure right now. 'This supply chain has so many complexities from policy to climate to geopolitics. And at the same time, it is a very interdependent conveyance,' Seroka said.

One major problem is the Panama Canal, a key shortcut for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Severe droughts, recently made worse by the El Niño weather pattern, have lowered water levels in the canal. This forces officials to limit how large or how heavily loaded a ship can be when it passes through, slowing down global shipping.

Because of those limits, more ships are now taking the longer route through Singapore and then across the Pacific to the U.S. West Coast. Singapore's port handled a record 44.66 million shipping containers in 2025, up from 41.12 million the year before. In June of this year, the Port of Los Angeles moved over one million containers in a single month, its busiest June in 118 years.

Ports cannot control a country's trade or security policies, but they can work together to speed things up. 'Speed is important,' said Seroka. He explained that the last thing shippers want after a weeks-long ocean journey is to sit and wait for days just to unload their cargo.

To help with speed and efficiency, the three ports are investing in digital technology. This includes using artificial intelligence, or AI, to help customers track their cargo and to give port managers a clearer picture of what ships are arriving and departing. Better data sharing between ports also helps them avoid last-minute problems that can cause costly delays.

The partnership is also focused on cleaning up pollution from ships. Shipping produces about 1,000 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year, which equals about 3 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists warn that without serious action, shipping emissions could rise by as much as 50 percent by the year 2050.

The three ports have already made progress on greener fuels. Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority completed methanol bunkering trials in 2023 and later handed out three licenses to supply methanol fuel to ships. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are now studying clean fuel options and are preparing to test methanol as a ship fuel in 2026.

Seroka offered a powerful example of why cutting ship emissions matters so much. He said that if a ship traveling from Shanghai to Los Angeles reduced its pollution by just 10 percent every week, that savings would equal all the pollution produced by the entire Port of Los Angeles in one year. Small changes on big ships can add up to a huge difference for air quality.

Trade policy has also shifted the types of cargo moving through Los Angeles. Back in 2018, about 60 percent of the port's business came from China, but today that figure has dropped to 40 percent, while trade with Vietnam has grown four times over. Because of this, the Port of Los Angeles has worked with shipping companies to set up direct, non-stop routes from Southeast Asia.

Seroka admits the road ahead will not be easy or quick. 'It's going to be a long journey... It's a lot of work. Nothing will happen overnight,' he said. But leaders from all three ports believe that working together gives them the best chance of keeping global trade flowing while also protecting the planet.