The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) now grants an additional 10 per cent concession on port dues for containerships staying five days or less.

This latest concession will be in place for one year, and will be granted on top of existing port dues concessions such as the Green Port Programme incentives and the 20 per cent concession first introduced in 1996, MPA said in a statement.

In all, these concessions are expected to amount to more than S$17 million Singapore (US$11.8 million) in annual savings for container lines, according to the port authority.

The MPA said that both it and terminal operator PSA Corporation Limited (PSA) have proactively worked on a suite of measures to "help the container lines cope with the challenging economic environment."

"PSA is working with their customers to enhance vessel productivity at the port and optimise network planning activities such as service deployments and phasing in and out of vessels, with the aim of lowering their operational costs, the press release said.