Malaysia’s ports achieved reasonable growth in 2021 following a slump in 2020 due to the pandemic, says Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
He said Port Klang and Port of Tanjung Pelepas were among the busiest ports in the world, ranked at the 12th and 15th places respectively in 2021.
He added that both ports have served as gateways and transhipment hubs and frequently handle the largest container vessels of 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
“Other main ports including Penang, Pasir Gudang, Kuantan, Bintulu, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu serve as important regional ports providing direct shipping links to various parts of the country.
“Ports such as Pengerang, Sungai Udang and Kertih provide facilities for oil and gas cargo and are actively involved in petrochemical industries, refineries and liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage,” he said in his keynote speech before officiating the 13th biennial International Harbour Masters’ Association (IHMA) Congress here on Monday (June 27).
Malaysia is the first Asian country to host the four-day maritime-related conference.
Dr Wee said the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine had led to increases in oil prices and shortages of commodities, adding that this had dampened global hopes for trade recovery this year.
“It is our hope that a speedy resolution is negotiated in the case of the Russia – Ukraine conflict and hopefully accelerate the recovery of the global economy which is still reeling from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
The conference is organised by the Port Klang Authority, helmed by chairman Datuk Chong Win Soon, and is supported by the Transport Ministry.
Nearly 200 delegates from 30 countries are participating in the conference and trade exhibition with over 40 speakers and panellists expected to share their knowledge in topics related to maritime.
The topics include sustainable capacity building, decarbonisation, digitalisation, safe maritime transport and emerging green technologies.
IHMA is a non-governmental organisation based in London, United Kingdom and is a member of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Source: The Star