SURABAYA INDONESIA (ISL News) - PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas as the manager of TPK Semarang in the near future plans to bring in 2 units of container loading and unloading equipment of the harbor mobile crane type. The equipment will support container loading and unloading activities at the 150-meter long Tanjung Emas Port ocean pier as an extension of TPK Semarang. Currently the pier is used for non-container loading and unloading activities.
Corporate Secretary of PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas Widyaswendra said that the utilization of the ocean pier was a form of response to the increase in ship visits and container flows at TPK Semarang. This was called an anticipatory step so that services remain optimal and prevent congestion that causes congestion.
In addition to preparing the dock and additional equipment, PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas will also arrange the area at TPK Semarang to prepare additional stacking yards. Currently, the company is preparing all the administrative requirements needed so that the use of the dock and preparation of the stacking yard are in accordance with good governance.
"The flow of containers at TPK Semarang has increased sharply, in 2024 it grew 15 percent compared to 2023, this will continue to increase along with the existence of the Kendal Industrial Area and the Batang Integrated Industrial Area in Central Java," said Widyaswendra, Monday (24/02/2025).
Furthermore, Widyaswendra said the company received at least 12 additional service requests from several shipping companies with the potential for additional container flow of approximately 200,000 TEUs per year. He predicted that in 2029, container flow at TPK Semarang could reach 1.2 million TEUs.
"The size and capacity of ships entering TPK Semarang are also getting bigger, the cargo is getting bigger so we need to ensure that service users can get the best service," he continued.
In the long term, the company will bring in 4 quay container crane units (a tool used to lift containers from ships to trucks or vice versa) which will arrive in the second quarter of 2026. In addition, the pier and stacking yard at TPK Semarang will also be raised.
Operational Performance
Not only limited to port facilities and equipment, PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas also focuses on improving the operational performance of TPK Semarang. A series of transformation processes are carried out both from the operational workers, business processes, to the use of the latest technology to support more effective loading and unloading.
Shipping business players have welcomed the plan of PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas to utilize the ocean dock for container ship mooring. This is because the number of ship visits to Tanjung Emas Port in Semarang is increasing, triggered by the increasing volume of imports and exports from the port.
"Currently, TPK Semarang must immediately increase its capacity, container ship visits are increasing," said the Head of DPC INSA (Indonesian National Shipowners' Association) Semarang, Hari Ratmoko.
Hari Ratmoko encouraged PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas to increase both dock capacity, equipment capacity such as quay container cranes, and container yard capacity. Currently, he said, the volume of import-export containers has increased significantly. The potential for increasing exports in the future will be even greater, especially from several new industrial areas in Central Java.
The chairman of the DPW ALFI (Indonesian Logistics and Forwarders Association) for Central Java and DIY, Teguh Arif Handoko, welcomed the plan to increase the capacity of TPK Semarang, especially the expansion of the container stacking yard, considering the growth of cargo from Central Java Province which has grown quite extraordinarily in the last few years.
"We welcome the plan to increase capacity, especially the expansion of the stacking yard because the flow of containers at TPK Semarang is expected to continue to grow significantly in the future," said Teguh.
Teguh said the volume growth at TPK Semarang last year and continuing to date is a reflection of the growth of industry in Central Java in recent years.
Previously reported that PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas recorded container flow throughout 2024 grew by around 15 percent compared to 2023. In 2024, containers passing through TPK Semarang reached 895,904 TEUs while in 2023 it was 781,841 TEUs. This number continues to grow considering that in 2020 the container flow through TPK Semarang was 717,062 TEUs.
(ISL News Editorial Team/Corcom SPTP/email:islnewstv@gmail.com).
