The Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) is located strategically at the confluence of the world’s international shipping lanes, which include the Trans-Pacific, Far East – Europe, Intra Asia, and South East Asia – Australasia lanes. The port began operations in January 2000 and secured Maersk Sealand as its first main line customer as well as a strategic partner. PTP has since gone from strength to strength and was awarded the ‘Best Emerging Container Terminal Award’ by Lloyd’s List Maritime Asia for two years in a row in October 2000 and November 2001.

Current status – facilities

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PTP currently offers 6 berths of 360 metres each in length thereby offering 2.16km of linear wharf length. Directly behind the berths is the port’s container yard, which is one of the largest container storage facilities in the region with 110,000 TEUs storage capacity.

The terminal is currently equipped by 24 Super Post Panamax quayside cranes, 10 of which have a 22-box outreach catering for the next generation of Super Post Panamax vessels. All 67 RTG yard cranes are in the process of being upgraded with advanced Kalmar Smartrail technology which utilises Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) to further improve productivity, safety and security.

The terminal operations are also backed by a state-of-the-art IT system with links to all port users. By synergising all of the port’s operations and communication centres, the IT network system facilitates a free-flow of real-time information and provides near paperless transactions between shipping lines, forwarders, shipping agents and the port ensuring high productivity. Phase One handling capacity is 4.5-5 million TEUs a year. Local cargo movement to major industrial estates is also easily accessible with PTP’s 5.4km access road, linked to the second Malaysia-Singapore expressway and the north-south highway. This ensures a linkage that runs all the way up to the Thailand border. Adding to the port’s land, sea and air infrastructure support, the 31.5km rail link to PTP is directly linked to the national rail grid passing through Peninsular Malaysia from Singapore to Southern Thailand.

PTP’s free zone status and its 400 acres of land reserved for distribution, logistics, and warehousing activities promises a Distripark with activities ideal for consolidation, International Procurement Centre operations, regional distribution centres, and distribution services. Current global players with their warehouses within PTP Distripark are Maersk Logistics, Schenker Logistics and Kenwood Logistics. By mid-2004, BMW will begin operations at their newAsian parts distribution centre in the PTP Free Zone.

Volume developments & current services

From 418,218 TEUs in year 2000 to 3.5 million TEUs in 2003. PTP is one of the fastest growing ports in the world. Maersk Sealand and Evergreen Marine Corp, the world’s two largest lines, have their regional South East Asian hub in PTP. Other lines at PTP include K-Line, Mediterranean Shipping Company and Safmarine and feeder operators such as Vinalines, MCC Transport, Bayswater, QC Container Line, Orient Express Line (OEL), Bengal Tiger Line (BTL), Bangladeshi Shipping Line (BSC) and HRC. PTP has also embarked on its Phase-2 development involving dredging & reclamation for an additional 8 berths. This will add another 2.88km of linear wharf to the existing 2.6km giving a total length of 5.04km. The access channel will also be widened to 420m from 250m upon completion of dredging works. This would enable two super-post Panamax vessels to sail side by side within the access channel safely. Draft will also be dredged to 16m from the existing 14m to facilitate increasing size of next generation vessels. Physical construction of the first two berths is expected to be completed by mid-2004. Upon completion, PTP’s annual capacity will increase by one million TEUs to six million.

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