‘Why is Sabah Ports lying?’

A Sabah assemblyman is puzzled over Sabah Ports' denial of inefficiency when there is documented evidence that there are at least five cargo vessels waiting for berthing time at any one time.

KOTA KINABALU: Inefficiency at the Sepanggar Bay Container Port (SBCP) is costing businesses and consumers in Sabah dearly, a state assembly representative has charged.

Shocked at Sabah Ports’ denial of his earlier allegations which were backed by documented evidence, Likas representative Junz Wong said the lengthy periods between berthing and unloading which in certain instances had forced the ship captains to leave the port without unloading their cargo were “real” and not a case of him making “misleading” statements.

Presenting facts and figures to back his claim, Wong said shipping companies, agents, forwarders, wholesalers and retailers have suffered due to inefficiency of Sepanggar Bay Container Port, and possibly is leading to higher costs of living in Sabah.

Giving a breakdown of the delays encountered by several vessels at the container port, Wong said he was puzzled by Sabah Ports’ claim that his earlier statement on the matter was “misleading”.

Sabah Ports had stated that there was no record as far as it was concerned to support that there were up to seven vessels waiting for the berth at any one time, and no record of vessels waited up to a week to berth at SBCP in refuting the assemblyman’s charge.

“Sabah Ports reply was indeed very smart … trying to hide the truth from the public,” said Wong, clarifying that he did not say that there have been vessels waited up to a week to berth but waited up to a week to be cleared.

“Why has SBCP taken up to a week to get done with some vessels from anchoring date via arrival date till actual berthing till actual departure date?”

According to Wong’s research, Cape Santiago missed its window and anchored just after midnight on July 23 but had to wait till July 29 for actual berthing and was cleared for departure on July 31.

This clearly showed, he said, that SBCP had taken more than eight days to clear this vessel.

Another vessel, Danum 156, queued right after Cape Santiago on the same day a few hours later, berthed on July 31 and departed the same day showing that the port had taken more than a week to clear this relatively smaller ship.

Records prove delay
According to Wong, another vessel, Hub Grandiose arrived on July 24, managed to berth only on July 31 and departed the next day, showing that SBCP had again taken more than a week to clear this vessel.

Port records also showed that on July 22, the vessel Marens anchored and only received instructions to berth three days later.

“The report has clearly shown that there were at least five vessels waiting for berthing time at any one time,” said Wong questioning if this turnaround rate at the port was standard.

“To illustrate the impact of such inefficiency, we must look into the vessel MCC Singapore case.

“MCC Singapore has anchored on July 31, could not wait any longer as it was not given a berthing time after waiting for three days and left diverted on Aug 2 to Muara Port in Brunei,” he said.

MCC Singapore offloaded the containers in Brunei on Aug 3 and its cargo meant for Sabah was picked up by another vessel, MCC Hanoi, to be sent back to SBCP. This was expected to arrive on Aug 6.

As a result of the delay for more than one week, shipping companies have to bear the extra costs, retailers and wholesalers has suffered as some goods are meant to be promoted during Hari Raya festive season, Wong said.

He said he learned of the delays after complaints were made by some in business community.

“Now the challenge for Sabah Ports is for how long does MCC Hanoi have to wait when it anchors in SBCP?

“Can Sabah Ports authority give a definite answer as to when can MCC Hanoi berth?” he asked.