Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), Taiwan's biggest shipping company, started at the weekend to move containers through Malaysia's Port of Tanjung Pelepas as it gradually shifts most of its services from Singapore.
Evergreen, which was the Malaysian port's second big customer win from its neighboring rival, will account for about a fifth of the total handling capacity at Tanjung Pelepas.
"Our growth has received another unprecedented boost," said Tanjung Pelepas Chief Executive Officer Mohd Sidik Shak Osman in an e-mailed statement. "Volumes expected from Evergreen in 2003 are expected to be around 1 million 20-ft equivalent units."
Tanjung Pelepas and Singapore's port operator PSA Corp. are competing to secure shipping customers on one of the world's busiest trading routes. Tanjung Pelepas had offered rates between 30 percent and 50 percent cheaper, analysts have said. In July, PSA slashed its port and container fees.
The Malaysian port, in which Malaysia Mining Corp is buying a 51 percent stake, will have the capacity to handle between 4.5 million and 5 million containers annually by the end of the year as it takes delivery of more quay cranes, the company said in the statement.
The port handled 2.05 million container units last year and is expected to handle about 2.5 million this year because of Evergreen's relocation.
At the weekend, two Evergreen vessels serving Asian markets called at the port. This week, Evergreen will start running six weekly long-haul services connecting China, Europe and the US.
It may be tougher for Tanjung Pelepas to lure more new customers away from Singapore after PSA last week said it had secured about 75 percent of its business on contracts lasting at least five years.
PSA is also negotiating with Evergreen to continue to move some of its services through Singapore. The Taiwanese shipping line used to move about 1.2 million containers a year through Singapore.
Evergreen couldn't be reached for comment.
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