The Port of Penang

The Port of Penang is operated by the Penang Port Commission. There are four terminals, one on Penang island (Swettenham Pier) and three on the mainland, namely North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT), Butterworth Deep Water Wharves (BDWW), and Prai Bulk Cargo Terminal (PBCT). With Malaysia being one of the largest exporting nations in the world[160], the Port of Penang plays a leading role in the nation's shipping industry, linking Penang to more than 200 ports worldwide. The Swettenham Pier Port also accommodates cruise ships and on occasions, warships.

Penang Port is an international port strategically located in the Straits of Malacca on the North West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Penang Port offers a variety of facilities and modern equipment to handle containers, liquid bulk cargo, dry bulk cargo and general cargo.

Since 1 January 1994, the operations of the port and ferry services at Penang Port has been privatised to a licensed operator, i.e. Penang Port Sdn. Bhd. (PPSB) under the Ports (Privatisation) Act 1990. PPC continues to exist as a Port Authority as well as undertakes other major roles, namely as a Regulatory Authority under the Ports (Privatisation) Act 1990, as a Port Resource Centre for the northern region and as the Administrator of the Free Commercial Zone (FCZ) under the Free Commercial Zone Act 1990 and Free Zone Regulations 1991.

In 1995, Parliament passed the amendments to the Penang Port Commission Act, 1955. These amendments enable PPC's power and jurisdiction to be extended to other ports. Effective 1 January 1999, PPC was appointed as the Port Authority and Regulatory Authority following the privatization of TelukEwa Jetty, Langkawi.

Apart from that, PPC also acts as trade facilitator, mediator and promoter of Penang Port. PPC is also commited in promoting Penang Port to be the hub-port for the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) as well as the Bay of Bengal.

Container Services

The container facilities at Penang Port are centred at the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT), while a smaller volume is handled at Butterworth Container Terminal (BWCT).

Currently, the maximum handling capacity of NBCT is 1 million TEUs per annum. With the expansion of NBCT and installation of 7 new cranes, its handling capacity is expected to increase to 1.8 million TEUs per annum by 2011. Dredging of the ACD (Approach Channel Depth) of NBCT from 11.5 meter to 14.5 meter in depth will increase cargo handling from 4,400 TEUs to 7,000 TEUs

BWCT mainly handles countable cargo such as timber, rubber, steel, coal, crepe, car and etc.

Cargo Services

Penang Port's cargo facilities are led by the Prai Bulk Cargo Terminal (PBCT) that handles dry bulk cargo such as soya bean, sugar and grains, as well as non-edible liquid bulk cargo such as petroleum, gasoline and fuel.

Vegetable oil is particularly handled by the Vegetable Oil Tanker Pier (VOTP), which is linked via overhead pipelines to facilitate direct loading and discharging of oils to privately owned storage tank farms.

Other Services

Penang Port also provides other services such as ferry and several other ancillary services include pilotage, towage, ship repair at dockyard, security and fire-rescue.

Moreover, Penang Port handles some of the largest cruise vessels in the world at Swettenham Pier on Penang Island. The Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal has been redeveloped into an international cruise terminal to cater for larger cruise vessels that contribute to the development of the tourism industry.

FACILITIES SUMMARY: Infrastucture: A. Road: Penang Port easily access by road to its hinterland via the North-South

    Expressway from the Malaysia-Thai border to the Malaysia-singapore border.

 B. Rail: A 2.5 km rail track connecting NBCT to the Butterworth railway station by

    end of 1999. The project with a rail sliding of 80 TEUs per line is being

    constructed on RM235 million by the federal government.

 C. Airport: the port is only 40km away from the Bayan Lepas Airport and can be reached in 30

minutes.

   

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

North Channel Dredging (2010 - 2011)

Dredging from 11 metres ACD (Approach Channel Depth) at North Channel to 14.5 metres ACD to serve mother vessels calling at the port.

Prai Wharf

Penang Port is also planning to re-develop the old Prai wharf into a fully dedicated modern bulk terminal to handle limestones, iron ore and cement clinkers. The amount of investment is expected to be RM 224 million. The new terminal will have a depth 14 metres and will be able to handle Panamax Vessels. It will have a state-of-art conveyor belt, which will be linked directly

to the customer's premises. The terminal will also be connected directly to KTMB's national grid and will initially be expected to handle two (2) million tonnes of bulk limestones, two (2) million tonnes of iron ore and 1 million tonne of other bulk cargoes.

Centralised Tankage Facilities (CTF)

The CTF project is located near to the BaganAjam Toll, Butterworth Outer Ring Road, encompassing an area approximately 100 acres off the nearby coast. The facilities at the CTF will include various types of oils and gas storage tanks, road tanker loading terminals, gas filling facilities, drumming facilities, blending tanks for bio diesel, lube and additives and warehousing.

The project estimated cost is approximately RM1.2 billion and will be operational by the end of 2013. This project will form a hub for moving liquid cargo in and out within Malaysian and International waters. The water draft will be approximately 13.0 metres as to accommodate vessel size up to 50,000 DWT. The total expected and estimated volume of liquid cargo to be handled by CTF is 700,000 metric tonnes per month.

Value Added Activities and Reclamation Project

A total of 1000 acres will be reclaimed at the North of NBCT which will be developed into container yards and other value adding activities such as:-

Free Trade Zones Activities (Free Industrial Zones / Free Commercial Zones) Warehousing / CFS and Logistic Activities Distripark and Inland Clearance Depot (ICD) Cold Storage and Halal Hub Centralised Tankage Facilities (CTF)

FAQ

1.   The difference between Penang Port Commission and Penang Port Sdn. Bhd.- Penang Port Commission is a Port Authority and Regulatory Authority for Penang Port and it is under the purview of the Ministry of Transport whilst Penang Port Sdn. Bhd. as a port operator is licensed by Penang Port Commission to operate the Penang Port.2.   What are the activities that can be carried out at the Free Commercial Zone?- Value added activities allowed at Free Industrial Zone are bulk trading, breakbulk, repacking, grading, relabelling, transit, inventory management, pick and pack, knitting, calibration, testing and product replenishing.  Other activities which are also allowed in the zone include dock depot operations, warehousing and container freight stations. 3.   What is the operational hours of the ferry service?From Pengkalan Sultan Abdul Halim (Butterworth) at 0600 hours and the last ferry operated at 0030 hours.From Pengkalan Raja TunUda (Penang Island) at 0530 hours and the last ferry operated at 0100 hours.

4.   What are the facilities available at the Tanjong City Marina and the tariff of the marina?We offer the following facilities and services at Tanjong City Marina5.How to get to Tanjong City Marina?Arriving yachts are required to call "Tanjong City Marina" on VHF Channel 68 when passing PulauRimau or PulauJerejak if entering from South or while heading East after passing TanjongBungah on your starboard if entering from North West.6.   What type of cargo Penang Port handle currently?Break bulk cargo, liquid bulk cargo, dry bulk cargo and containerised cargo.  7.   Do Penang Port have any dedicated berth to handle import and export cargo?Yes.  - Butterworth Wharves handle Break Bulk and liquid bulk at Vegetable Oil Tanker Pier. - Prai Bulk Cargo Terminal handle dry bulk - North Butterworth Container Terminal handle containers.  8.   What is TEUs?TEUs is a (twenty equivalent unit) term use to indicate a twenty foot long container.   9.   What are the equipments use to handle containers in the port?Equipments such as gantry cranes, rubber tyre cranes, prime movers and trailers are the equipments used to handle containers in the port. 10.   What kind of information system being used in Penang Port to handle containers?The system is known as PELKON III and is a highly integrated system use to run daily containers handling operations in Penang Port.  11.   Is the port operational 24 hours?Yes. The port operates 24 hours and 7 days a week including public holidays.