KUALA LUMPUR (June 4): Northport (M) Bhd marked a new record after handling the highest monthly container throughput of 335,361 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in May 2024, an improvement of 26.6% against May last year.

In a statement today, the port operator said the achievement 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 1,390,916 TEUs of containers, marking an increase of 11.1% against the same period last year.

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,” said Northport, a member of MMC Group.

CEO Datuk Azman Shah Mohd Yusof said that 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.

Apart from the higher number of vessel calls, Azman Shah said the record-breaking container throughput registered 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 said.