KOTA KINABALU: Cargo vessel congestion at the port has here been eased with the Roll on Roll Off (RORO) ships operations relocated from Sepanggar Port.State Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe said this immediate short-term measure had proven to work.He said the congestion started early July and this measure helped avoid congestion surcharges by shipping companies.He said the surcharge which was supposed to be introduced on July 15 would definitely have a negative impact on the economy.
“As the public is aware of, I took urgent initiative to bring the port issue to the State Cabinet for immediate action. Besides relocating the RORO ships to KK ports, other measures were to engage with shipping companies and stakeholders,” Phoong said.“I am glad that the surcharge was not imposed on July 15. This gave the Sabah port management space to improve port efficiency and deploy immediate actions to ease the congestion,” he said.He has been monitoring the operations at Sepanggar Port over the past two weeks and is happy to note significant improvements.“Today (July 26), I witnessed the operation of the first RORO vessel discharging cars at KK Port, in line with the instructions from the cabinet,” Phoong said.This is the first operation after its relocation to Sepanggar port in January 2022.“Based on my personal observation over the last five days, there have not been more than three cargo vessels waiting to berth at Sepanggar Port at any one time,” he said.“Most of the time, only one or two vessels are waiting in our waters, with an average waiting time of less than 48 hours before they are allowed to berth,” said Phoong who is Luyang Assemblyman.He pointed out that as of 5pm Friday, the only container vessel that waited for one day in Sabah waters had been allowed to berth at Sepanggar Port. “This means no more vessels are currently queuing or waiting to berth.Phoong said continuous monitoring of port operations would go on as a way to restore the confidence of Sabahans and stakeholders, especially the shipping companies, ensuring that the congestion surcharge would not be implemented.“I would like to acknowledge the efforts made by the Sabah Port management to improve efficiency. Measures have been taken to increase manpower for drivers and jockeys, among other initiatives,” he said.He commended the cooperation of relevant agencies such as State Secretary, Datuk Seri Safar Untong, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Sabah Port Authority and Sabah Port Sdn Bhd over the past two weeks.“I also thank the shipping companies for their commitment and cooperation in working with Sabah to ensure a win-win situation,” Phoong added.
Reference : https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/238776/cargo-vessel-congestion-at-port-eases-phoong/