Southpoint, Malaysia is a
port
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 H ...
in
Klang District
The Klang District is a district in Selangor, Malaysia. It is located in the western part of Selangor. It borders the Kuala Selangor District to the north, Petaling to the east, Kuala Langat district to the south and Malacca Straits to the west. ...
,
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. Called Port Swettenham under British rule, it was the only port in the area and was administered by
Malayan Railways Limited. Today Southpoint has undergone massive rehabilitation and offers a range of facilities and services for the handling of a variety of
cargo
Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...
es; it is now one of three ports in the area (see
Port Klang
Port Klang ( ms, Pelabuhan Klang) is a town and the main gateway by sea into Malaysia. Known during colonial times as Port Swettenham ( ms, Pelabuhan Swettenham) but renamed Port Klang in July 1972, it is the largest port in the country. It is l ...
and
Northport), and has been administered by the
Port Klang Authority since 1963.
History
The history of Port Klang (now the most important port in Malaysia) began more than 100 years ago at Southpoint, then a small railway port that was known as Port Swettenham. For many years it was the national gateway, offering a wide range of port facilities and services and handling all cargo types such as general,
breakbulk
In shipping, break-bulk, breakbulk, or break bulk cargo, also called general cargo, refers to goods that are stowed on board ship in individually counted units. Traditionally, the large numbers of items are recorded on distinct bills of lading ...
and liquid bulk.
The demand for port facilities at Port Klang, consistent with the growth of the economy in the seventies, and the advent of containerization, saw the development of Northport eclipsing the role of Southpoint. Southpoint became a home only to small coastal ships,
tugs,
barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
s, fishing crafts and inter-island ferries.
The
Selangor Polo Club was founded in Port Swettenham in 1902 but it moved to
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
in 1911.
Major efforts have now been initiated by ''Northport ( Malaysia) Bhd'', which owns and operates Southport, to revitalize the port. Southpoint is rapidly emerging into a regional conventional transshipment hub.
The Port Today
Southpoint caters to ships serving the short-sea trades in the region. It also has facilities for the handling of liquid bulk cargo, especially
palm oil and rubber
latex
Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well.
In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...
, as well as dry bulk cargo. Southpoint also handles cargo such as vehicles and machineries.
Designated as a 'Free Commercial Zone' in February 2004, Southpoint offers itself as a customs-free cargo consolidation centre for re-shipment of cargoes shipped in conventional form from neighbouring and riverine ports.
Southpoint has eight
berths (from Berth 1 to Berth 7A). The first four berths have a depth between 9 m and 10.5 m to cater for ocean-going vessels up to 40,000 displacement
tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s. Berths 5 to 7A draw depths of about 6m and can accommodate coastal ships of up to 6,000 displacement tonnes.
Other facilities include: eight warehouses, a container yard and a fully equipped multipurpose yard with a total space of 35,000 sq.metres that serves as freight station for consolidation of conventional cargo into containers. Containers from Southpoint can be moved across to the container terminals at Northport to secure mainline connections to worldwide ports.
Significant upgrading and refurbishing of the facilities and services have been carried 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
Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...
/
Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...
, a major focus of the re-development of the terminal is to serve the short-sea trade.
There are now a number of ship operators and barges mounting regular services to and from river ports in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, Sabah, Sarawak,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
,
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
Southpoint has an average of 120 barge ship calls per month. In addition, Southpoint has five break bulk berths. The 546 meter terminal is capable of accommodating bulkers ranging from to .
There are regular sailings to more than 11 major ports in Indonesia: Banjarmasin, Belawan, Jambi, Makasar, Palembang, Dumai, Bitung, Tanjung Balai, Pekan Baru, Buatanand Semarang. Cargo handling consolidation activities are also expected to link up with more than 20 minor ports around the Indonesian archipelago.
Southpoint also offers dedicated facilities for containerized cargo, which can be packed, unpacked and stored, for distribution via Northport's Container Terminal 1, 2 and 3 for worldwide connections.
Southpoint is positioned to play a niche role in the expanding intra-ASEAN trade, especially to exploit the "trade creation" effects following the entry of
AFTA.
See also
*
Port Klang Free Zone
References
External links
Port Klang Authority
{{coord missing, Malaysia
Ports and harbours of Malaysia
Buildings and structures in Selangor
Klang District