Service to the port of Muntok on Bangka of Bangka Belitung and Palembang of South Sumatra ceased operating regularly with the demise of the tin mining industry.

However, a high-speed ferry continues to connect Tanjung Pinang to Singkep, from where local boats may be chartered to Lingga.

Susi Air operates government subsidised passenger flights from Dabo to a variety of destinations, such as Pekanbaru, Batam, Tanjung Pinang, Jambi, and Pangkal Pinang.

By secret agreement the Dutch allowed America and Britain access to deposits of thorium on Pulau Singkep in August 1945 which was vital for nuclear processes.

[1] In 1999, the heavy-lift ship Mighty Servant 2 sunk in 35 meters of water near Singkep after striking a solitary, isolated and previously unmapped spire of granite.