KUALA LUMPUR: MMC Group unit Northport (M) Bhd has set a new record after handling the highest monthly container throughput of 335,361 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in May, a significant growth of 26.6 per cent against the sand period last year.
The port operator said this surpassed the previous record of 310,865 TEUs set in December 2020.
For the first five months of this year, Northport handled a total of 1.39 million TEUs of containers, marking an increase of 11.1 per cent against the same period last year.
Northport set an outstanding achievement by handling a total of 3.32 mlion TEUs of containers in 2021, the company's all-time high container handling in a single year.
In 2023, Northport recorded a new milestone in its conventional cargo segment by handling 11.4 million FWTs (freight weight tonnes), surpassing its previous record high of 11,11 million FWTs in 2022.
Northport said the Red Sea geopolitical crisis has had a severe impact on international trade, resulting in several vessel diversions from major regional ports.
"Since January this year, Northport has received more than 80 ad-hoc calls primarily due to this global crisis," it added.
Northport chief executive officer Datuk Azman Shah Mohd Yusof said coupled with higher container volume driven by its aggressive marketing efforts and higher productivity resulting from improved infrastructure, the company achieved a record-breaking performance last month.
"This achievement is a reflection of our capability to provide efficient service, maintain consistently high productivity and ensure berth on arrival for the growing number of vessel calls," he said in a statement.
Apart from the higher number of vessel calls, Azman Shah said the record-breaking container throughput in May was also driven by the introduction of two new vessel services and the improved volume from existing services at Northport during the month.
The achievement was further bolstered by the completion of the new state-of-the-art container yard infrastructure, Block J, in 2023, which played a crucial role in ensuring the efficient performance of Northport's terminal operations, he added.