Malaysia’s Westports downplays P3 impact

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe operator of Westports, a multi-cargo port in Malaysia, said the start of the P3 alliance’s operations will not greatly affect their volumes even though they stand to lose tonnage once the cooperation begins its new port rotation.

This is because the reduction in traffic share from the re-routing by P3 would be offset by an increase in throughput as a result of the stronger global economic activity, Westports Holdings CEO Ruben Emir Gnanalingam told local media.

He said the growing intra-Asia, Asia-Africa, and Asia-Australasia trades are expected to make up for the loss of business from the reshuffle.

Some 200,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) are seen to be shifted from Westports to either Tanjung Pelepas in Johor, Malaysia, or PSA ports in Singapore once the P3 alliance comes into service.

But Westports said the figure represents a less than 5 percent shrinkage in capacity, as the company expects cargo handling to grow by 5 percent to 10 percent, or from 350,000 TEUs to 700,000 TEUs, this year, reports Bernama, Malaysia’s national news agency.

Westports is one of three terminals located at Port Klang; the other two are Northport and Southpoint.

The proposed mega-alliance, comprised of the world’s top three container shipping lines Maersk Line, CMA CGM, and Mediterranean Shipping Co., has been given the thumbs-up by the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to share vessels and engage in joint operations.

The P3, however, is still awaiting clearance from the European Union, China, and South Korea.

With 255 vessels totaling 2.5 million TEUs altogether, the P3 is expected to  dominate the east-west trade—42 percent of the Asia-Europe trade, 50 percent of the Asia-Mediterranean trade, and 24 percent of the trans-Pacific trade.

Photo: Rifleman_82