PTP Woos New Shipping Lines Aggressively

KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 2 (GCTL) - Malaysia's Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Johor state is aggressively attracting more shipping lines to use its facilities, said its chief executive officer Captain Ismail Hashim.

"We are actively in negotiations but I am unable to disclose details, but (the talks are) basically with the top 10 shipping companies in terms of fleet size," he said, adding that the current global economic crisis also provided an opportunity "in the sense that the shipping lines too have to seriously look at their operating situation".

"And basically we have the capacity to give competitive pricing to these lines," he said. "We are also able to give them the opportunity for faster turnaround and at the same time minimal waiting time for berth so that their vessels can move in a more productive manner."

Ismail said under the current situation, the shipping lines were re-looking at their deployment of vessels and forging closer collaborations, even with their competitors. "They are trying to find ways and means to manage the business level they have, with the existing oversupply of capacity," he said