PORT OF TANJUNG PELEPAS VOLUME TOPS 2 MILLION TEUS

PORT OF TANJUNG PELEPAS VOLUME TOPS 2 MILLION TEUS    The port of Tanjung Pelepas, in southern Malaysia, exceeded its volume targets for 2001, handling more than 2 million TEUs.
   “The 2.05 million TEUs represent an increase of approximately five-fold over year 2000’s 418,000 TEUs,” the port said in a statement.
   The port of Tanjung Pelepas has attracted substantial transshipment container traffic away from the port of Singapore, the dominant container port of Southeast Asia.
   Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman, chief executive officer of the port of Tanjung Pelepas, said the 2-million-TEU target was achieved despite the economic climate.
   The A.P. Moller group, the parent company of Maersk Sealand and APM Terminals, owns a stake in the fast-growing Malaysian port, and is one of its largest users.
   PSA Corp., the operator of the port of Singapore, has not yet published its throughput statistics for 2001, but it is expected to report a decrease in volume.