The Malaysian Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and Northport have both reported record monthly throughput bolstered by the impact of the Red Sea crisis.
MMC and APM Terminals who run the PTP handled 1.078 million TEU in the month of May 2024, which it claimed to have handled without any congestion at the Southeast Asian transhipment hub.
A growing number of ports are seeing congestion and delays as lines struggle to keep to schedules due to large scale diversions from the Red Sea to the sailing via the Cape of Good Hope on the trades between Asia and Europe/Mediterranean. PTP’s neighbour Singapore, the world’s largest transhipment hub, has been seeing delays and is activating additional capacity.
Meanwhile MMC run Northport in Port Klang has been benefitting from ad hoc calls by lines as try to manage services during the crisis. Northport handled 335,361 TEU in May 2024, a 26% increase year-on-year, and eclipsing its previous record monthly throughput of 310,865 TEU set in December 2020.
Tan Sri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh, PTP Chairman, said that “achieving record monthly volumes without congestion meant the port could provide a unique and valuable service to the global supply chain”.
Mark Hardiman, CEO of PTP said: “PTP’s strategic approach to continuously enhancing efficiency and optimising operations, with strong emphasis on safety, has been crucial in maintaining Malaysia’s competitive edge in an increasingly competitive global market.”
“The Red Sea geopolitical crisis has had severe impact on international trade, resulting in several vessel diversions from major regional ports. Since January this year, Northport has received more than 80 ad-hoc calls primarily due to this global crisis,” said Dato’ Azman Shah Mohd Yusof, Chief Executive Officer of Northport.
Source: Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas Sdn Bhd.
