04 Aug 2000

Tanjung Pelepas Boosted By More Maersk Calls

Lloyd's List Maritime Asia

Maersk Sealand is continuing to beef up its presence at Singapore's new competitor, the port of Tanjung Pelepas, with feeder and intra-Asian calls.

Supporting the five weekly mainline calls that the Danish shipping line is putting into the port, its Asian feeder arm MCC Transport has started making calls at the Malaysian port. On Wednesday, the MCC vessel Buxhill, on a feeder route from Jakarta - PTP - Laem Chabang - PTP, pushed the port past the 100,000 teu mark since it started operations less than nine months ago. According to a spokesman for the port, it is one of two feeder services that Maersk has put into the port.

In addition, Tanjung Pelepas has also been included on Maersk Sealand's new intra-Asian Express running service from Indonesia to Japan. Maersk Sealand is currently negotiating to buy a 30% stake in PTP, with a plan to use the port as its South east Asian hub. According to market sources, the Danish line is considering a wholesale switch of its services from Singapore to PTP if it successful in buying a stake.