Another three major liner operators calling at Northport in Port Klang have decided to move one of their services to Westport in a significant move that reflects the increasing fluidity of the global liner market and port development in the region.

Clinching the new services has provided Westport, which last year handled 1.1 million TEUs a major boost in its ambitious target to handle 1.6 million TEUs this year. 

Unfazed by the economic slow-down arising from the contraction of the US economy, Westport predicted last month it expects 50 per cent growth in its traffic

Beginning today, APL, which operates four services in Port Klang, will move its PS1 to Westport in a move seen as strategy by major operators to spread their eggs in the light of emerging alternative choices in the region.

The move by APL, which will be followed by its consortium partners, Mitsui Lines and Hyundai Shipping Line, is also predicated on the deployment of larger vessels which require draft above 13 metres.

Westport can accommodate vessels drawing draft up to 15 metres and in that sense also offers shipping lines calling Port Klang an option to restructure their services based on vessel size or trade lanes without affecting the global loops their operate in arterial routes.

Such a development also offers the two container ports in Port Klang to co-exist without fundamentally affecting the national objective of making Port Klang a national load centre and regional transhipment hub.

Westport, which has been witnessing robust growth in traffic beginning this year refuted charges that it is “pinching: traffic away from Northport at Port Klang by drawing attention to the fact that APL has opted to maintain its three other services at Northport.

Westport said it was not without parallel for MLOs to double call ports and drew the example of Maersk-Sealand which calls at both Westport and Northport with its Saigon Service and COSCO with APG / Uni Service.

Sea Consortium and Hiap Seng Feeders are also lines which double call at the two ports in Port Klang.

Such double calls are also evident at other ports in the region, including Port of Tanjung Pelepas where Maersk-Sealand recently decided to make a call at Singapore for its east-west services in addition to calling at PTP.

Meanwhile, the Marseilles-based CMA-CGM is expected to deploy one of its largest vessels in its expanding fleet of new containerships to Westport next month as part of its commitment to make Westport is Asian hub port.

The group, which is pursuing an aggressive expansion plan has ordered for delivery end of the year eight 6,600 TEUs vessels.

CGM CMA , which uses it as Westport as regional hub, rather than Singapore, along with its alliance partners Norasia and the National Shipping Corp of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA), is Westport’s largest customer.