Singapore has updated its rules for the Maritime Declaration of Health (MDH). The MDH is a health form. The master sends it to port health officers before the ship arrives. The new rules started on 30 October 2026, the National Environment Agency (NEA) says.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) shared the NEA notice in Port Marine Circular No. 11 of 2026, dated 4 November 2026. It replaces Port Marine Circular No. 03 of 2026 from February.
Which ships must send the form
A ship arriving in Singapore must send the MDH if any one of these is true, the NEA notice says:
The ship called at a port in a listed country in the past 21 days.
A crew member or passenger travelled to a listed country in the past 21 days. This can include new crew who travelled from one of these places to join the ship.
Someone on board may have an infectious disease, or there is a dead body on board.
Someone on board is sick.
The NEA says it may add more countries if the world health situation changes. This can happen when new diseases of concern appear.
The 38 places on the list
As of 30 October 2026, the list has 36 countries and two Indian states:
Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Middle East: Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen.
South Asia: Bangladesh, and the Indian states of Kerala and West Bengal.
Crewboard compared the new list with the February list. Cameroon and the Central African Republic were on the February list. They are not on the new list. All other places are the same. The notice does not say which disease each place is linked to.
What to send and when
Send the MDH by email to the NEA Port Health Office at Port_Health_CRO@nea.gov.sg. The NEA notice says to send it 12 hours before arrival at the Port of Singapore. The MPA circular says at least 12 hours before arrival.
Send these documents with the form:
the crew list and the passenger list
a copy of the current Ship Sanitation Certificate
the list of the last 10 ports of call
a list of all crew and passengers with a temperature above 37.5 °C
The form asks about deaths on board, suspected infectious disease, sick people, medical advice, stowaways and sick animals. It also asks for the ports of call in the voyage or the past 30 days. The form says to send an update if the health of anyone on board changes.
If a ship does not follow these rules, it may break Singapore's Infectious Diseases (Quarantine) Regulations, the NEA warns.
What to do now
Before you sail to Singapore, check the last 21 days for the ship and for every person on board.
Ask new crew where they travelled in the last 21 days. A crew member who came from Kerala, West Bengal or a Gulf country can mean the ship must send the form.
Check crew temperatures before arrival. Write down anyone above 37.5 °C.
Keep the Ship Sanitation Certificate valid, and have a copy ready to send.
Work out your arrival time early, so you can send the form on time. You can plan the passage with port-to-port distances on Crewboard.
If someone gets sick after you send the form, send an update. If you are not sure, call the Port Health Office on +65 6222 2585 or ask your local agent.
Keep the MPA circular and the NEA notice on board with your port papers. For other official contacts, see official help lines and useful links for seafarers.
Masters and Chief Officers looking for their next contract can see current Master vacancies on Crewboard.
Cover photo: Keppel Container Terminal in Singapore, with ships at anchor in the strait behind it, May 2012. Illustrative photo, not linked to a ship in this story. Photo: Noel Reynolds / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).
Sources: MPA Singapore: Port Marine Circular No. 11 of 2026 — Maritime Declaration of Health (4 Nov 2026), MPA / NEA: Circular PDF with NEA notice of 30 Oct 2026, country list and MDH form, MPA Singapore: Port Marine Circular No. 03 of 2026 — Maritime Declaration of Health (25 Feb 2026, earlier list), NEA Singapore: Port Health overview.
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