PUTRAJAYA: Containers held at Port Klang must be inspected and released within three days if there were no issues or need for further inspection.

This new standard operating procedure (SOP) will be implemented effective May 1, 2022, and encompasses the detention, inspection, and release of containers by enforcement agencies and other government agencies or port authorities at Port Klang.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said there was no specific time period or limit set for the release of containers previously, including those detained for further inspection, causing congestion at Port Klang.

"We had to wait previously because we gave no time limit to the container management process.

"There were also cases of containers being placed at the port and after we took action, after five years, the owner of the container, including his company, could not be traced," he said in a press conference after chairing the National Logistics Task Force meeting here today.

Wee said the SOP was designed to enhance coordination between agencies such as the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) and the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (MAQIS) for container management.

"If we can't integrate well, a delay of a day or two will result in a loss in terms of production," he said.

The minister noted that if the SOP were successfully implemented in Port Klang, his ministry would implement the same in other ports in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Wee said the implementation of the second phase of the prime mover shared use policy has been extended for semi-trailers to carry luton/box and general cargo, effective May 5, 2022.

In the first phase, which started last September, the Transport Ministry only allowed the shared use of prime movers for semi-trailers carrying container cargo in the same group of companies.

Wee said the implementation of the second phase will first be implemented in Peninsular Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA