KLANG: While Israel-based shipping company Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd will not face much difficulty in removing its 4,000 containers stranded in Malaysian ports, it may need some time to do it, say industry players.
They said that Zim, which has been in Malaysia for about 20 years, was well established with strong ties to local and regional shipping firms.
Shipping Association Malaysia deputy president Thum Hoong Yip said Zim could remove its containers from Malaysia by buying slots from other shipping lines or companies.“They will have to work with their alliance partners or liaise with feeder operators,” he added.
Slots in the maritime industry are akin to flight tickets in the aviation industry and public feeders are companies that do not have ships but sell slots, just like how travel agencies sell flight tickets. Slot are like “tickets” on a ship for containers.
Zim found itself in a dilemma after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim banned its ships and all other Israeli flag-bearing vessels from docking at Malaysian ports.
Following this, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Zim had to remove its 4,000 transhipment containers that were stranded due to the ban.
According to Thum, most shipping lines work closely together like a consortium with regard to transporting their containers.
“Many operators share asset utilisation as well as slots with each other,” he said, adding that currently, there were not many solo lines that would have to look after themselves.
Containers, he said, could still be kept here under the slots of other companies pending being moved out of Malaysian ports.
“It would take time to move 4,000 containers,” he said.
Other shipping lines could also help Zim co-load the containers and transfer them to ports in other countries, said Thum.
Selangor Freight Forwarders and Logistics Association president Datuk Tony Chia said it was too early to know if Zim’s expulsion from Malaysia would affect the local freight forwarding industry.
“Importers and exporters who are Zim clients will have to look for other shipping companies as an alternative,” he said.
Another freight forwarding industry player, who declined to be named, said there were also other solutions, such as using feeder or connecting vessels to send their goods to ports where the Zim line ships were docked.
Zim’s office located in Klang was not contactable at press time.
