THE deepening of the Northern Approach Channel at Port Klang is nearing completion, according to a statement from the terminal operator Northport (Malaysia) Bhd.
The dredging, which involved the removal of 22.62 million cubic metres of deposits, will allow larger than 8,500-TEUs containerships to navigate into Malaysia's biggest port and shorten transit times by three hours.
"The deeper channel would go a long way not only to ensure their safety but also assure a faster turnaround time," said OOCL (Malaysia) managing director Richard Hew. "OOCL is certainly pleased with the deepening of the approach that brings with it savings in time and cost of operating these giant vessels."
OOCL, which was among the first few global liner operators to acquire post-panamax containerships, deployed the 8,063-TEU OOCL Shenzhen in 2003 calling at Northport as part of its Asia-Europe service under the Grand Alliance. Last year the 8,400-TEU Savannah Express belonging to Hapag Lloyd made its maiden call at Northport.
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