The Indonesian Express
PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas (SPTP) recorded container traffic in the first semester of 2024 as much as 5.84 million TEUs. This number grew by about 6 percent compared to the same period in 2023, which was recorded at 5.51 million TEUs. Corporate Secretary of PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas Widyaswendra said that the container traffic consisted of 1.83 million TEUs of international containers and 4.01 million TEUs of domestic containers. "The international containers grew by about 5.76 percent compared to the first semester of 2023, and the domestic containers grew by about 6 percent compared to the previous year," explained Widyaswendra on Tuesday (23/07). The growth of container traffic is influenced by several factors, for example, in the subsidiary TPS Surabaya, the international container ship visits reached 492 ship visits from the planned 465 ship visits. The same goes for domestic container ship visits, where in the first semester of 2024, 88 ship visits were planned and 117 ship visits were realized. A similar situation also occurred at Kaltim Kariangau Terminal (KKT), where there was an increase in container traffic related to the needs of the construction of the Nusantara Capital (IKN). Container traffic at KKT grew by about 21 percent from 96 thousand TEUs in the first semester of 2023 to 117 thousand TEUs in the first semester of 2024. "We are targeting container traffic for the year 2024 to be 12 million TEUs, and we are optimistic that this target can be achieved in line with the increase in container traffic in the first semester of 2024," added Widyaswendra. Director of The National Maritime Institute (Namarin) Siswanto Rusdi mentioned that containerization efforts could be one of PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas' efforts to increase container traffic growth. Not only that, to support containerization efforts, PT Pelindo Terminal Petikemas needs to make improvements in several ports, especially in the eastern region of Indonesia. On the other hand, efforts to increase foreign container flow can be done by providing terminals that function as transshipment hubs. However, Siswanto believes that a comprehensive study needs to be conducted with all parties including the government. The presence of a strong ecosystem starting from bunker facilities, docking locations, financial systems and payments, ship piloting and delays, and other factors are crucial in realizing the international transshipment hub of our dreams. "It's time for Pelindo to expand its container terminal management portfolio to show that Indonesia is capable. If Pelindo dominates the market domestically, it would be even better if it could expand internationally, at least in Southeast Asia," concluded Siswanto.