Evergreen and its subsidiary Uniglory carry nearly 1.2 million TEUs (20-foot containers) through Singapore each year.

 

The move comes after almost a year of speculation that Evergreen would be the next major shipping line to follow the world's largest - Maersk Sealand - which shifted to the new Malaysian port last year after taking a 30 per cent equity stake in it.

 

Maersk was the biggest customer of Singapore port operator PSA Corporation at the time - representing up to 10 per cent of its annual throughput.

 

The Evergreen news comes at a difficult time. With Singapore officially in a recession, PSA has been hit by the global economic slowdown and is in its first full year without Maersk's 1.8 million TEUs.

 

BT understands from sources that Evergreen has issued a termination notice in regard to its 10-year virtual terminal agreement with PSA. The agreement can be broken after five years - by giving a year's notice.

 

A source said Evergreen has been involved in discussions since early September in a bid to cut short its contractual obligations. Should no agreement be reached, it is understood the line will see out its notice period to the end of next August, then shift to PTP.

 

The key players are tight-lipped, with PTP marketing and corporate communication manager Brian Paul issuing a terse 'no comment'.

 

PTP chief executive Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman said recently that PTP 'is increasing all measures to secure new users to the terminal' - an indication the Johor port is not content with remaining predominantly a Maersk transhipment hub.

 

A PSA spokesman said: 'PSA does not comment on rumours or reports in the press. It does not and cannot comment on confidential agreements with customers. PSA is bound by contractual obligations not to comment on its business operations and dealings with customers.'

 

Evergreen's public relations manager Lisa Chen told BT from Taipei: 'As a carrier, we always look forward to lower cost or other alternatives, not only in Asia but in Europe and the US.

 

'PTP is a new port, so of course we will look into the possibilities. It's under study but no final decision has been made.'

 

PTP is still way behind Singapore in terms of throughout, handling 1.48 million TEUs in the first nine months of this year, against PSA's 7.55 million in the first six months, a 13 per cent fall from the same period a year ago.

 

The Malaysian port also lags in terms of scale, with just 14 gantry cranes and a further 10 on order, the first five of which it expects to be operational by the first-quarter next year.

 

PTP sources say the port is operating at 50 per cent capacity, which means it should be able to accommodate Evergreen's annual 1.2 million TEUs of cargo.

 

But one question which arises is whether the young port, which primarily handles Maersk cargo, can cope well with the volume from another major carrier.