Sandakan Port celebrated the maiden call of ‘Maersk Valencia’, marking the launch of Maersk’s expanded service to Sandakan Port under the Intra Asia 5 (IA5) routing.
The IA5 service covers 20 port of calls which departs from Shanghai, China and connects to several other ports in China, Myanmar, Malaysia (Tanjung Pelepas, Pasir Gudang, Tawau Port and Sandakan Port), Brunei, Philippines, Japan and Korea.
Under the rotation, Maersk will conduct bi-weekly calls to Sandakan Port with an expected throughput of 200 to 300 container boxes per shipment.
With the additional service, Sandakan Port is able to provide cargo owners with an alternative choice for shipping solutions as well as a secure and reliable network for cargo transfers.
According to Sabah Ports Sdn. Bhd.’s Managing Director, Datuk Ng Kiat Min “Our East Coast ports such as Sandakan and Tawau Port have immense potential not only in relation to the BIMP- EAGA region, but also in view of its strategic position at the international maritime trade route between Australia and East Asia.”
“We will give our full support to Maersk and its local agent Harrison to ensure the success of the IA5 partnership.”
