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Shipping agents believe that trade at smaller regional ports will not be
affected by the increasing size of vessels as they cater to different
markets and have niche roles to play in the supply chain of the maritime
industry.
They said this in response to the recent claim that local regional ports
must be upgraded to handle bigger ships or risk being downgraded to feeder
ports.
It is said that ports such as Bintulu Port, Penang Port, Kuantan Port and
Johor Port needed to equip themselves to cater to the increasing size of
ships.
Wan Hai (M) Sdn Bhd general manager Mike Wong said: “A shipping line will
call at a port even though it is not a mega-sized port, as long as demand is
there.”
He said the size of a port was not an issue as small or medium-sized vessels
could be deployed according to the capacity of the port.
Wong explained that mega carriers were built to take advantage of the
increasingly high-capacity transhipment hubs in the intra-Asia region and
were designated to cater to the busier shipping routes, such as in North
America, Europe and Asia.
“It is important to note that there is still a limited number of ports and
shipping routes to handle them,'' he said.
“Thus, this gives a better role for smaller ports to serve a specific market
and shorter distance trade,” he added.
Perma Container Line (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Francis Fernandez said
that in a broader perspective, neither emphasis nor incentives were given to
small-to-medium ship operators in the region as major terminals concentrated
on serving the mega carriers.
“Having alternative terminals for existing and emerging small-to-medium ship
operators will enable these operators to source competitive rates and demand
better efficiency,” he said.
Amasis Shipping (M) Sdn Bhd general manager Quek Boon Chew said generally,
major carriers were given huge incentives to induce them to call at the
respective terminals, while small-to-medium operators largely paid the
tariff or enjoyed minimal discounts.
“This creates an uncompetitive environment for the smaller players even
though they may be competing on the same trade route,’’ he said. “An
alternative port will allow these carriers to source better costing and
priority to remain competitive which, in turn, translates to better freight
rates for the exporters and importers.”
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