The Muara Port ( ms, Pelabuhan Muara), also known as Muara Harbour, is a

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

operated by the Muara Port Company (MPC) Sdn Bhd, under the supervision of the Maritime and Port Authority of Brunei Darussalam. The port also contributed to the Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

Geography

The port's strategic location allows access to the

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The port lies 28 km from the capital of Brunei,

Bandar Seri Begawan Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB; Jawi: بندر سري بڬاوان; ) is the capital city of Brunei. It is officially a municipal area () with an area of and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei-Muara District, the sm ...

and it was considered to be the Gateway for Trade. The Muara Naval Base lies north-east of the port, and

Muara Besar Island Muara Besar Island ( ms, Pulau Muara Besar, Abbrev: ') is an island in Mukim Serasa, Brunei-Muara District, Brunei. The island is essential for the Brunei–China relations due to its part in the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. It can be no ...

in the west. The port also contains a free trade zone, which is known as the Muara Export Zone (MEZ).

History

In 1973, the port was officially completed and it became the largest port in Brunei. In 1982, the port underwent a B$26.5 million expansion project. It can also be noted after 1997, the port might not have been in use due to the decline in cargo volume. The Port Authority bought two quay cranes in 1996. In 2000, a joint venture was made with the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), and later on June 23, 2003,

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

warships USS ''Vincennes'' (CG-49) and USS ''Harpers Ferry'' (LSD-49) were berthed at the port during

Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training The Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Exercise CARAT) is a series of annual bilateral military exercises conducted by the United States Pacific Fleet with several member nations of ASEAN in Southeast Asia. Currently, the navies of Banglad ...

(CARAT). Once again during CARAT 2005, USS ''Safeguard'' (T-ARS-50), USS ''Rodney M. Davis'' (FFG-60) and USS ''Paul Hamilton'' (DDG-60) were present at Muara Port. In 2011, there has been regional competition between Bintulu Port and Muara Port. In 2013, three inland container depots have been upgraded, and in 2014, the

Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), formerly known as One Belt One Road ( zh, link=no, 一带一路) or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 150 ...

's Brunei-Guangxi Economic Corridor (BGEC) was signed between Brunei and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The Muara Port Company is a joint ventured company between Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd and Beibu Gulf Holding formed on February 15, 2017, and later on July 18, 2018, the Muara Container Terminal was acquired by the company. On March 26, 2019,

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

HMS ''Montrose'' (F236) arrived at the port to conduct exercises, and later from September 27 until 30, the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese ...

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...

''Qi Jiguang'' was berthed at the port during a goodwill visit. The MPC signed an agreement with the Brunei government to build and acquire the largest fishing complex in Brunei on December 22, 2020, thus enhancing the Brunei–China relations. On June 5, 2021, the pre-commencement ceremony of the Muara Port Expansion Project was attended by the Chinese Ambassador Yu Hong, Minister of Finance and Economy and Minister of Transport and InfoCommunications. On January 30, 2021, the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

frigate ''Vendémiaire'' (F 734) made a three-day visit to Brunei, and later on July 27, HMS ''Defender'' (D36) became the first Royal Navy ship to visit Brunei since 2019. Plans were made to expand the port by 2023, in which it will increase the quay length and capacity from 280,000 TEUs to 500,000.

Facilities

There are several designated areas and facilities within the port: * A container yard * of transit warehouses * A long mooring quay * A container freight station * of warehouses * of Muara inland container depot * of Muara export zone

References

External links

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Marinetraffic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muara Port 1974 establishments in Brunei Brunei-Muara District Ports and harbours in Southeast Asia