As early as the 10th century AD, Arab traders journeyed through Singapore waters on their expeditions to China and Indonesia. Since then, vessels began frequenting what is now the Straits of Singapore. With the rapid growth in trade, a large number and variety of merchant sailing ships also called at Singapore.

This stamp issue pays tribute to four of these sailing ships which sailed through the Straits in the 19th century. The stamps feature the Clipper with the locomotive used within the port, the Twakow or sailing lighter, the Fujian Junk and the Golekkan. Also featured in the stamps are smaller sailing boats like Tongkang, Sampan Kotak and Palari.

A new souvenir cover is released to complement the Maritime Heritage stamps and miniature sheet.

Australia '99

A souvenir sheet incorporating the four stamps will be released in conjunction with Australia '99, an international stamp exhibition to be held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from 19 to 24 Mar 99. Australia '99 promises to impress visitors with its construction of a massive fleet of sailing ships, which will be used as trade stands. The ships reflect the theme of the stamp exhibition. Interestingly, the venue is also located by the Yarra River where sailing ships used to moor.

Celebrations of the Seas - The Maritime Heritage Stamp Collection

A limited serialized numbered joint folder entitled, Celebrations of the Seas - The Maritime Heritage Stamp Collection will be released with the launch of Australia '99. The folder includes stamps on Maritime Heritage from 11 postal administrations; namely, Australia, Aland, Canada, Faroe Islands, Guernsey, Ireland, Jersey, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden and United Nations. Priced at $12.95, these will also be sold at the 10 philatelic counters in Singapore from 19 Mar '99.