SINGAPORE literally would not exist without the shipping industry. In 1819, the East India Company reached agreement with the local ruler to use it as a waystation for vessels carrying opium to China. Five years later, it bought the entire country for cash.

Two hundred years later, it would not be much of a stretch to describe it as a powerhouse port with a small Southeast Asian city-state attached.

But until last month, the International Union of Marine Insurance conference had not taken place there since 2004.

Even then, Singapore’s standing in the maritime industries was undeniable. But at that point it remained an emerging market in marine insurance terms.

As the 600-plus delegates who assembled for this year’s event were told, that is clearly no longer the case.

It is now the fourth-largest hull market in the world. Its share of the global hull book now stands at 7.9%, leaving it just a fraction of a percentage point behind the once-almighty Lloyd’s.

Nor is it the only Asian nation to see its marine insurance presence take a great leap forward. China is now writing around 12% of world hull premiums and must be counted as a core market for H&M.

It also writes 17% of cargo business, which is more than Lloyd’s and the London companies markets put together.

The late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who died in 1997, argued that the 21st century would be the Asian century. If marine insurance is anything to go by, he may have had a point.

Joining David on the podcast are:

• Veith Huesmann, chief analyst, IUMI

• Sean Dalton, head of marine underwriting North America, Munich Re

• Alicia Leong, head of marine liabilities Asia, Markel

• Jun Lin, vice-president, Gard