Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd (SPSB), the sole operator of port facilities in the state, has issued a blanket denial that its operations leave a lot to be desired.

The situation at Kota Kinabalu, Sepanggar Bay, Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau is not as critical as it has been made out to be by shipping agents, said SPSB in a statement. "The yearly increase in the cargo throughput at the ports is not very significant to cause congestion."

NONE SPSB was responding to a statement by Sabah shipping agents expressing their dissatisfaction with the situation at the ports in the state.

The SPSB statement did not refer to a request from shipping agents in the state for a dialogue with the port management firm.

SPSB disclosed that it had spent RM300 million for the purchase of various container handling equipment for use at Sepanggar, Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau since taking over the ports in September 2004.

The money includes RM45 million for two units of container gantry cranes at Sepanggar. These are expected to arrive at the end of this year.

"The amount of money spent shows that SPSB is aware of the need to ensure that sufficient and efficient equipment is being provided for container handling at the ports," said a SPSB spokesperson, elaborating on the statement.

NONE The firm, continued the spokesperson, was aware of the need to plan for future development.

Citing some figures from the statement, the spokesperson stressed that SPSB has so far spent RM600 million on the construction of the container terminal at Sepanggar Bay and an oil terminal each at Sandakan and Kunak.

Installation works on a bulk conveyor system and bulk warehouse at Sandakan Port is ongoing and will be completed next year at an estimated cost of RM33 million.

"While the optimum number of vessels is two at any one time, Sepanggar can also handle three vessels," said the spokesperson. "We are also confident that shipside handling efficiency will further improve with the commissioning of two STS gantry cranes by early next year."

Sepanggar, it is learnt, has been designed to handle 500,000 teus (twenty foot equivalent unit of containers) per year but at present can only manage 200,000 teus per year. Likewise, Sepanggar has been designed to handle vessel sizes of up to 3,500 teus but is only handling vessel sizes of not more than 700 teus with an average waiting time for berth of 24 hours.

Congestion admitted

Tawau Port, the SPSB spokesperson admitted, had experienced a short period of congestion recently due to maintenance dredging works carried out at the main wharf area. The situation at the main wharf is now back to "normal except for the breakdown of the mobile crane operator".

The SPSB assured that efforts were being made to speed up repair works with the import of replacement parts, weighing about five tonnes, from Germany. "The prolonged time required to put the mobile harbour crane back into operation is due to the need to fly in the replacement parts from Germany," explained the SPSB spokesperson. "This is the first major mechanical breakdown incident."

NONE The shipping agents, lamented the SPSB spokesperson, had no cause to complain since they had been given adequate notice and explanation on the mobile crane breakdown. Besides, shipping agents have been given a waiver on some of the port charges for the Tawau containers carried by the gearless vessels. These have to be transshipped at Sandakan due to the breakdown in Tawau.

Gearless vessels, according to the SPSB, comprise 35 percent or five out of 14 vessels calling every month at the Tawau Port. Geared vessels can continue to use Tawau Port despite the absence of the mobile crane operator at the wharf.

The provision of the mobile crane operators at RM11 million each has seen SPSB's shipside cargo handling rate increasing from eight boxes per hour - using the ship's gear crane - to 12 boxes an hour without the ship's gear.

Tawau (54,000 teus) and Sandakan (40,000 teus) have one mobile crane operator each and there are three at Sepanggar. The SPSB has no plans to increase the number of mobile crane operators employed at Tawau and Sandakan given their present handling rate.

The spokesperson pointed out that wharves and jetties were built to last more than 10 to 15 years "and hence the existing facilities at the ports are operationally sufficient to cater for the current and immediate cargo volume".

Even so, the ports experience berthing congestion because vessels sometimes arrived simultaneously. He attributed this congestion as due to bunching of vessels and not a shortage of berths as alleged by shipping agents.

"The cargo handling rate is also dependent on the efficiency of the consignees' and shippers' trucks," said the spokesperson in dismissing the 10 to 15 days waiting period at Lahad Datu, an example cited by shipping agents, as a gross exaggeration. "The average waiting for berth time for vessels calling at the Lahad Datu Port is not more than 24 hours."

The spokesperson stressed that Lahad Datu only experienced occasional congestion caused mainly by bulk vessels discharging fertilisers and loading of bulk palm kernel expellers.

These, it was claimed, was the only cargo that takes up a week or more to complete because of their relatively large size. He could not offhand say how often such congestion took place except to reiterate that "it does take place".