To expand its presence in the Malaysian market, South Korean liner Hanjin Shipping launched a new service in Port Klang last week.

The mv Hanjin Brussels, which was one of 12 vessels deployed for the new Pendulum Express Service (PDE), made its maiden call at Westport.

“This is the first time that the PDE service is running and Port Klang is the first port in Asia that the vessel is calling at.

The service, which will cover the Asian, European and American west coast routes, will run on a weekly basis,” said Hanjin Shipping managing director Lee Hong Kyoo. He said the 5,680 TEU-capacity vessel arrived at Port Klang from the Port of Le Havre and was heading to Yantian.

The service, which will cover the Asian, European and American west coast routes, will run on a weekly basis,” said Hanjin Shipping managing director Lee Hong Kyoo. He said the 5,680 TEU-capacity vessel arrived at Port Klang from the Port of Le Havre and was heading to Yantian.

For the Asia-US route, the PDE service will call at Yantian, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Pusan, Seattle, Oakland and Long Beach, while the service will call at Felixstowe, Le Havre, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Yantian, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Pusan for the Asia-Europe route.

The Asia-Europe route transit time is estimated to take about 21 days, while the Asia-US route is estimated to take about 25 days. Lee said both routes would use Port Klang as a direct call.

“Port Klang will be the central point for this service, as it is strategically located between the east and west. “In this sense, we are able to focus on the Intra-Asia trade, which has been beneficial for all involved.

“Being in Westport has also been beneficial for us, as we’ve achieved excellent performances in the port, thanks to their excellent facilities,” said Lee.

He said Hanjin Shipping managed to move a total throughput of 250,000 TEUs in Malaysia, with around 150,000 TEUs handled through Westport last year.

The latter figure was for both the local and transhipment volume. “It is timely that we are launching our new service today as April 1 marks our first anniversary of being a principle office in Malaysia.

“Upon reaching this milestone, we hope to grow with Westport and the local market in the years to come,” said Lee.

Hanjin currently offers 12 weekly services in Malaysia, with seven services calling at Westport, three at Northport and a weekly service each at Penang Port and Pasir Gudang Port.