MIRI (April 22): Feeder shipping services to Sarawak and Sabah are now in a transition stage, with full revival unlikely before the end of the year, said Bruce Chai.
Chai, whose family is in the transport business, said the industry is cautiously optimistic that pre-Covid 19 pandemic market levels will be return.
“But it really depends on everything – things that happen worldwide like fuel, demand, and other factors,” Chai said when commenting on the Sarawak Livestock Breeders Association’s appeal for help as non-functioning feeder shipping services had left containers of imported livestock feed stuck in Port Klang for months.
The bustling feeder shipping sector from Port Klang dwindled during the pandemic and companies in Sarawak struggled to stay afloat.
As orders plummeted, some companies had to lease vessels to other regions.
With Malaysia re-opening all economic sectors, demand has returned but the absence of players with vessels has resulted in a costly mismatch affecting related industries in the state.
“Many of these players had leased out vessels for economic reasons but I believe that it is not that easy and it will take some time for the feeder services market to adjust itself to pre-pandemic levels,” said Chai, who is Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) Pujut chairman.
He said East Malaysian states are disadvantaged due to higher logistics costs.
“Even if bulk purchases are made, it is costlier to haul containers from Bintulu Deepwater Port to Kuching, Sibu, Miri, or smaller towns where big container ships cannot berth,” he explained.
He suggested the Sarawak government consider having bigger ports, rail infrastructure, or better road networks to help the shipping and other industries.
“The government should look at policies and infrastructure development – the hardware – and let the business people figure out what needs to be done as competition is the only way to build one’s economy,” he added.
Reference: https://www.theborneopost.com/2022/04/22/feeder-shipping-to-east-msia-in-transition-stage-says-transport-industry-player/