The agreement was signed on Monday, result in a spin-off of activities for PTP as well as enable it to take a lead role in the industry now that it has clinched deals with Evergreen and the world’s number one liner, Maersk Sealand of Denmark.

 

The Danish container line, which signed up with PTP in 2000, also took a 30% take in the port operator’s equity.

 

Evergreen and its subsidiary, Uniglory, carry 1.2 million twenty-equivalent units (TEUs) through Singapore annually. The shift to PTP would save them costs of up to NT$200 million (RM21.66 million).

 

Evergreen is no stranger to Malaysia. Uniglory was the first regional mainline to call at Pasir Gudang Port, also located in Johor. It recently made a maiden call at the Bintulu International Container Terminal in Sarawak.

 

Analysts said Evergreen’s move to PTP would deal another blow to PSA Corp Ltd, which lost its biggest customer, Maersk Sealand, to PTP.

 

Responding to the agreement between PTP and Evergreen and reports that Evergreen’s long-term agreement with PSA would not be extended, PSA said it “actively engages all its customers, including Evergreen, on an ongoing basis to create win-win partnerships.”

 

However, PSA said it regretted that an agreement could not be reached by both parties.

 

PSA operates the world’s largest container transhipment hub in Singapore where 250 shipping lines connect PSA to 600 ports in 123 countries worldwide.

 

It said the departure by Evergreen is not expected to have asignificant impact on PSA’s financial performance as PSA has a diversified customer base and a growing global market with its participation in 13 countries – Belgium, Brunei, China, India, Italy, South Korea, Portugal, and Yemen. – Bernama