Port Klang Authority: Vessel congestion due to delays at preceding ports

The congestion at Port Klang is mainly due to the vessels bunching up after facing delays at preceding ports, says Port Klang Authority.

“The situation is made worse by bad weather during the monsoon season where vessels are delayed at ports in China, Hong Kong and Singapore, and subsequently omit some of these ports to arrive at Port Klang at about the same time.

“As a result of this the current waiting time for a berth in Port Klang is two to three days.

“Further to this, some shipping lines have cancelled calls at Port Klang or have very limited space available to load export containers out of Port Klang due to high demand for slots in Chinese ports.

“This has resulted in export boxes staying in the port longer than usual resulting in shortage of storage space in container yards,” the Port Klang Authority said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec 23).

It added that both factors had led to capacity being at 95%.

“Both terminals have taken measures to temporarily increase yard space by converting vacant spaces close to the existing yards to accommodate additional boxes. This in turn, has resulted in a drop in productivity where more shifting of boxes is required and movements of yard equipment are hampered.

“To mitigate these problems, terminals are giving berth priority for vessels that have more loading movements (rather) than discharging in order to reduce the remaining boxes in the yard.

“Terminals have also urged importers to clear their boxes quickly from the terminals and avoid using the port as a storage area,” it said.

Port Klang Authority also urged all consignees to take deliveries of inspected containers to ensure more can be inspected and cleared.

A new space for Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) inspection has also been created to help mitigate the issue.

Westport had agreed to bear the cost of shifting containers the statement added.

“The anticipated surge in volume of containers during Chinese New Year is being addressed by Port Klang Authority in collaboration with the port terminals and the relevant government agencies and measures will be put in place to ensure smooth operations and timely clearance for all shipments,” it said.