CHARTING THE FUTURE OF PENANG AS AN INTERNATIONAL MARITIME CENTRE: the importance of Penang Port

1. Penang Logistics Seminar 2007 July 5th, 2007 Cititel Hotel, Penang SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION CHARTING THE FUTURE OF PENANG AS AN INTERNATIONAL MARITIME CENTRE:the importance of Penang Port Capt. Syahril Akmar bin Suid Chief Marine Officer Penang Port Commission

2. Introduction • Maritime sector contributes significantly to the Penang economy. • Penang economic activity is dependent to a large extent on its maritime resources and supporting industries. • Its port and shipping sectors provide a backbone to her trade dominance and economic affluence. • Penang was an entrepot centre for Southern Asia and centre for ship registry in this region. • Because of our history, we are inclined to regard Penang as an international maritime centre. SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

3. Introduction • Penang cannot claim herself to be an international maritime centre merely by attributes such as suitable geographical location or glorious maritme history. • More needs to be done for Penang to fully exploit her maritime resources, infrastructure and expertise to enhance her maritime standing. • A true international maritime centre is one which has capability to fully exploit its God given maritime endowments to enhance its maritime standing among the world’s leading maritime centre. SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

4. Key elements of a major international maritime centre • one of the world’s busiest in terms of shipping and cargo tonnage and one of the world’s top container port; • modern seaport with state of the art facilities and efficient services; • excellent connectivity with shipping lines, ports world wide and other modes of transportation; • premier gateway for international trade within its hinterland by providing the best service and technology application at the most competitive price; • accommodates all types of ships including large ocean going vessels; • one of the world’s top registry of ships; • base for international shipowners and operators; SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

5. Key elements of a major international maritime centre • a vibrant ship management and agency base; • excellent maritime training facilities and programmes; • comprehensive and well-integrated maritime and ancillary services; • one of the world's leading ship repair and ship conversion centre; • gateway for the cruise industry and marine tourism; • venue for international maritime conference and events; • centre of excellence for maritime R&D; • politically stable and business friendly environment; and • clean, safe and secure. SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

6. Activities linked to Penang’s maritime economy sector • Port services; • Shipping services; • Maritime auxiliary services i.e. banking, insurance, legal and consultancy; • Ocean and coastal shipping; • Ship building and repairing; • Marine tourism and leisure; • Other supporting services such as bunkering, ship chandler etc. SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

7. Roles of Penang Port • Penang Port is considered to be the prime sector in Penang maritime economy. • The port serves one of busiest trade routes and links to more than 200 ports worldwide. • The port also is a preferred port of call for trades within IMT-GT and the Asia Pacific region. • Penang Port placed within easy reach of all major economic regions in the country. • The port also serves very well as a sea-air modal choice for cargo transportation. SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

8. Container terminals Breakbulk terminal Drybulk terminal Liquidbulk terminals Ferry terminals Marina Cruise terminal Dockyard Dangerous Cargo terminals Port services Marine services Ferry service Ancillary services Labour Bunkering Lighterage Free Commercial Zone Existing port facilities, infrastructure and services SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

9. Existing port facilities, infrastructure and services • Container terminals • North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) • Butterworth Container Terminal (BWCT)

10. Existing port facilities, infrastructure and services • Breakbulk, drybulk and liquidbulk terminals • Butterworth Wharves • Prai Bulk Cargo Terminal • Vegetable Oil Tanker Pier • Dangerous Cargo Berth

11. Existing port facilities, infrastructure and services

12. Passenger catamarans; NBCT Phase 3; additional length of 600 meters wharf; land reclamation of 25 hectares; gantry cranes and RTG; and a 1500 meters storage deck. Establishment of FCZ at NBCT. Future projects SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

13. Challenges faced by Penang Port • The increase in world tonnage has exerted pressure on freight rates, forcing shipping lines to seek greater levels of efficiency. • Penang Port need to fulfil this demand, offering for example custom-made solutions such as free storage for transhipment containers, warehousing, priority or dedicated berthing arrangements. • All these developments in the shipping sector involving technological advances, business models and strategies, sailing scheduling and routing, and trade patterns, among others, are central to cargo trends and will continue to play a detrimental role in charting the development of Penang Port. SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

14. Challenges faced by Penang Port • The challenges of keeping up the development of ports and terminal to cater to these ships have become crucial. • This challenges has resulted in Penang Port making heavy investments to provide outreach to handle super-sized ships and to have enough to maintain a steady flow of container operation. • Changes in trading patterns will also be detrimental to consolidation of high volume services and rationalisation of port calls. • The ability of Penang Port to provide logistics services and supply chain management efficiently and reliably is a major pull factor for shipping lines to call at the port. SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

15. Challenges faced by Penang Port • Penang Port must be adequately equipped with resources that can ensure speedy processing of boxes and allocate enough cranes to load and unload big ships, while maintaining smooth flow of boxes between quay and yard. • Penang Port must also upgrade its inland intermodal transport to minimise congestion and reduce container turnaround time. SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

16. Strategies for Penang Port • Improve port infrastructure and utilize available space efficiently; • Institute a comprehensive marketing plan to encourage more main line operators to call at he port; • Promote aggressively its services; • Provide dedicated berths so the MLOs can arrange transshipment as rapidly as possible; • Provide sufficient and efficient ancillary services; • Take equity in other regional ports; • Continue developing port facilities and services on customer driven basis; and • Establish efficient connectivity with international shipping destinations and explore new markets. SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

17. Conclusion • To be successful in the today’s world, Penang Port need to aggressively address today’s challenges. • It should spare no effort to meet such global requirements and standards in order for its customers and neighboring communities will fully trust and appreciate Penang Port. • In line with these principles, Penang Port aims to grow along with the world of commerce where continuous efforts will be taken towards the development of the port as it rushes forward to greet the new challenges in providing quality services to its clients. SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION

18. Conclusion • Penang has all the makings of a true international maritime centre. • Penang Port plays a crucial part in charting the future of Penang as an international maritime centre. • Therefore, should we are able to overcome those challenges by implementing the right strategies, Penang will be on the right course towards becoming one of the world’s leading and successful international maritime centre. SURUHANJAYA PELABUHAN PULAU PINANG PENANG PORT COMMISSION