Port of Tanjung Pelepas outlines growth priorities and equipment purchases

The Port of Tanjung Pelepas will continue to be agile, adaptive and resilient against the crisis of COVID-19 and the resulting economic instability as it continues its growth journey, its CEO told PTI in a recent interview.

Part of that growth is to double the TEU throughput at the port.

“With the increase demand from our customers and our growth prospect, our primary focus moving forward is to optimise the current terminal footprint up to 15 mil TEUs in the coming years,” Marco Neelsen, PTP Chief Executive Officer told PTI. This compared with the current footprint of 12.5 million TEUs.

Hear from Marco Neelsen at PTI’s Smart Digital Ports of the Future event on 29 March to 1 April. Click here to find out more.

“This programme covers the upgrading of our equipment fleets such as procuring more STS Quay Cranes and subsequently adding landside equipment like Electrified Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes & Prime Movers. Apart from that, the initiative also covers improving existing infrastructure and further enhancing our terminal efficiency and processes via the digitization & automation effort.”

PTP currently has a total of 24 ship-to-shore (STS) Super Post Panamax Quay Cranes out of its total fleet of 66 quay cranes along its 14 berths totalling 5.04km in linear wharf design.

Its deep draft of 18.5m will ensure the new generation of Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCV) can safely navigate in and out of PTP at all tide conditions.

In 2021 the port plans to procure additional seven STS quay cranes which are projected to be fully delivered by mid-2022.

“These cranes will serve mainly feeder vessels and at the same time permit movement of existing volumes across berths, providing operational flexibility and subsequently allowing PTP to optimize vessel berthing arrangements,” according to Neelsen.

Furthermore, PTP will also procure 11 new 61T Twin Lift Electrified Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes (E-RTG) as part of its equipment modernisation plan. All equipment is expected to be put into operation by Q3 2022.

The importance of digitalisation

The seamless exchange of info and data amongst the industry players will become more crucial as port community will demand tighter collaboration, faster responsiveness and immediate access in data exchange and sharing in the face of the continued uncertainties caused by the pandemic.

In addition, Neelsen also said that it is imperative for all within the industry to work closely among the supply chain players and stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of continuous business growth.

“Digitisation will naturally become even more important as port community at present demands tighter collaboration, faster responsiveness and immediate access in data exchange and sharing. TradeLens platform for example, is a Blockchain that is able to provide PTP with the secure and collaborative digital tool enabling PTP to view millions of shipment events and documents, helping to simplify the process.”

PTP is continuing its digital journey with the roll out of a number of key programmes. For more details on these programmes read the PTP article in the February 2020 Edition on the PTI Journal Ports Embark on Digital transformations.