An existing practice in Port Klang to require the release of cargo containers to traders within three days will be expanded to other federal ports beginning next year, said the Ministry of Transport (MOT).
The standards of procedure (SOP) for detention, inspection and release of containers, which was introduced in Port Klang as a pilot project, was aimed at preventing huge losses among traders due to prolonged detention of the containers by other government agencies (OGAs) and permit issuing agencies (PIAs), the statement said.
The prolonged detention had impacted the country’s competitiveness and port productivity, the statement said. The SOP was first developed in May 2022, it added.
Before the implementation of SOP, only 70% to 75% of containers were released within three days of the inspection.
“However, since the implementation of SOP, OGAs or PIAs released the detained containers within three days, Port Klang has registered 92% of containers being released from May 1, 2022 till Aug 31, 2023,” the MOT said.
“The increase in the percentage of containers released within three days shows that SOP has streamlined the container detention, inspection and clearance procedures at Port Klang by establishing a standard work process among OGAs or PIAs,” it added.
There are 10 federal ports in Malaysia: Teluk Ewa Port in Kedah, Penang Port, Port Klang, Tanjung Bruas Port in Melaka, Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port in Pasir Gudang, Johor, Kuantan Port in Pahang, Kemaman Port in Terengganu, Bintulu Port in Sarawak, and the Labuan Port.
Port Klang, the world’s 12th largest container port, handled 13.72 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2021 and 13.22 million TEUs in 2022. It handled 30.3 million freight weight tonnes (fwt) of conventional cargo in 2022, up 13% from 26.8 million in 2021.
Efforts to improve the competitiveness of the country’s port operations come amid increased regional competition to capture the traffic along the Strait of Malacca, which is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world.
In 2022, maritime traffic along the strait rebounded 5.7% while container traffic rebounded 7.8%, following three consecutive years of decline, according to transport policy InforMARE.
Earlier this month, Thailand revisited a multi-billion dollar land-bridge project that its Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin reportedly said could cut travel time between the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand by four days, bypassing the Malacca Strait entirely, and lower shipping costs by 15%.
Source: The Edge Malaysia