A newly opened fourth terminal at Northport in Port Klang, Malaysia, is expected to raise transshipment volumes beginning this year.
Northport forecasts its transshipments to inch up by 11.5 percent to 1.4 million 20-foot-equivalent units in 2014, up from 1.3 million TEUs in 2013.
The port’s transshipment business makes up 45 percent of operations, but port officials say this share is seen to increase to 55 percent with the opening of the fourth container terminal called CT4.
Revenue from transshipment contributes about 24 percent to Northport’s total container revenue, and the rest comes from the local box business.
Opened in February, the new terminal enlarges total annual capacity at Northport to 5.6 million TEUs. Northport is seen to process some 3.4 million TEUs this year, an improvement over the 2.89 million TEUs lifted last year.
The fourth terminal cost MYR350 million (US$106 million) to construct and can accommodate ultra-large ships of up to 200,000 displacement tonnes and up to 11,000 TEUs, according to local media reports.
One of two main port operators at Port Klang, Northport has been making heavy investments to improve its facilities and attract mother vessels to berth at its port.
Last December, it opened its new Wharf 8A, part of the fourth terminal, for commercial use. The month before, it acquired six quay cranes at a cost of MYR170 million; the cranes are equipped with a state-of-the-art protection device to ensure their safe operation.
Northport now has a total crane fleet for quay-side operations of 32 units to make loading and unloading operations more efficient and cut ship turnaround time at the harbor.
Port Klang is the 12th busiest port in the world and serves about 70 shipping lines.
Photo: Northport Malaysia
