SURABAYA INDONESIA (ISL News) - PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas (SPTP) said that there was an increase in container flow at TPK Kendari by 7 percent in the period from January to October 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Until October 2024, the company recorded container flow at TPK Kendari of 112,077 TEUs, while in the same period in 2023 it was 104,423 TEUs. The growth in container flow is in line with the economic growth of the Southeast Sulawesi Province in the third quarter of 2024 of 5.24 percent.
Corporate Secretary of PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas Widyaswendra said that there are at least several factors that trigger the growth of containers passing through TPK Kendari. First, the nickel industry in Southeast Sulawesi Province has triggered an increase in the need for goods entering the region. In addition, it is also triggered by an increase in fisheries and agricultural products which make the return transportation from TPK Kendari reach an average of 30 percent. This number is relatively higher when compared to other eastern Indonesian regions which average only around 10 percent.
"The increase in container flow at TPK Kendari is also in line with several national shipping companies increasing the number of ship calls to the terminal," said Widyaswendra, Wednesday (04/12/2024).
The addition of ship visits is one of them done by Pelayaran Meratus which currently has seven ship visits every month from previously only four ship visits. Head of Pelayaran Meratus Kendari Branch Klemens Kenny said the trend of container growth in the Southeast Sulawesi region is quite good, ranging between 8-10 percent per year. Pelayaran Meratus ships that stop at TPK Kendari have a capacity of 400-800 TEUs.
Klemens Kenny said that the addition of ship visits in addition to the increase in cargo was also triggered by the increase in operational performance of TPK Kendari after the transformation carried out by SPTP. Ship stopover times (port stays) became faster because the loading and unloading speed increased significantly to 40 boxes per hour (B/S/H) when two quay container crane (QCC) units worked together to serve one ship.
"There is a very significant increase in terms of loading and unloading speed at the port and a much shorter port stay. Currently, the average port stay is around 17 hours, from the previous average of two days. Moreover, when compared to several years ago which averaged more than three days," he explained.
The addition of ship visits was also carried out by Pelayaran Salam Pacific Indonesia Lines (SPIL) which added two ship visits each month from the previous four visits to six ship visits. Branch Manager of PT Salam Pacific Indonesia Line (SPIL) Kendari Branch Usman Bada said that the cargo handled by SPIL increased by an average of 10 percent each year. His party also felt the results of the transformation of TPK Kendari after the merger of Pelindo.
"The improvement efforts made by SPTP are starting to be seen, one of which is better and more effective planned operational activities, increasing the speed of loading and unloading and faster ship transit times," he said.
(ISL News Editorial Team/Corcom SPTP /email:islnewstv@gmail.com).
