History of Port Klang began at Southport. For many years it was the gateway -

offering wide range of port facilities and services, handling all cargo type such as general, breakbulk and liquid bulk. It remained as the principal landing port for passenger traffic.

Soon the rapid expansion of demand for port facilities at Port Klang and the

advent of containerization saw the development of Northport.

In an attempt to turn Southpoint into a regional conventional transhipment hub, Northport (Malaysia) Bhd (NMB) is upgrading and refurbishing the facilities and services to meet the demands of the trade.
 
Since the port facility at Southpoint has traditionally served as a coastal terminal to handle the trade between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah/Sarawak, a major focus of the re-development of the terminal is to serve the short-sea trade.
 
In this regard therefore Southpoint is expected to play a niche role in the expanding intra-ASEAN trade, especially in the light of the "trade creation" effects of the entry of AFTA.
 
There are nine berths at Southpoint which can serve the requirement of the short-sea trade emanating largely from Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
 
The 1,182 metres of quay line at the port is now being upgraded and given a new facelift to cater for the regional break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk and barge operations.
 
The first four of the nine berths at Southpoint are capable of accommodating ocean-going carriers with 20,000-40,000 displacement tonnes while the remaining five other berths can accommodate 6,000 displacement tonnes carriers.
 
Strategically located at the major crossroads of the Straits of Malacca Southpoint makes as a perfect gateway for trade between Northport of Port Klang and Indonesian ports located in Sumatera, Kalimantan and Java.
 
With vastly superior and efficient port services and facilities compared with similar short-sea terminals in the region, Southpoint has the competitive edge to attract more trade and ships. With aggressive marketing and promotional effort, the are regular sailings to more than 11 major ports in Indoensia namely Banjarmasin, Belawan, Jambi, Makasar, Palembang, Dumai, Bitung, Tanjung Balai, Pekan Baru, Buatan and Semarang.
 
Cargo handling consolidation activities are also expected to link up with more than 20 minor ports around the Indonesian Archipelago.
 
Of recent, shippers from the Indonesian archipelago have started to ship palm oil traffic using barges to Southpoint which offers a more economical choice of transport from shallow river ports. The direct services to Southpoint not only offer lower rates currently borne by Indonesia shippers but also improve transit time tremendously. Southpoint also offers dedicated facilities for containerized cargo, which can be packed, unpacked and stored, for distribution via Northport's CT1 & CT2 for worldwide connections.
 
Shippers are beginning to see the tremendous cost and time savings advantages to ship their conventional and container traffic from river ports of Indonesia island to Southpoint.
 
Souhtpoint acts as "landbrigde" to connect their consignments via Northport's container terminal for transhipment to final destination.
 
There are a total of eight liners offering regular services to four major container handling facilities namely Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang and Belawan. The regular services mounted by Advance Container Line, PT Pilindo Mega Selatan, RCL TSK Line, Hub Line, QC Container Line and Malaysia International Shipping Corporate Bhd are expected to expand further.
 
The additional services will increase with fast growing volume of cargoes from the Indonesian archipelago.