Harbor Star seeks to enter 2 Malaysian ports

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MANILA, Philippines — Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc., a major provider of harbor assistance, lighterage, salvage and towing services in the country, is expanding overseas beginning with a bid to serve two ports in Johor, Malaysia.

This foray into Malaysia is part of Harbor Star’s aspiration to enter key markets in Southeast Asia while expanding its domestic business. During the company’s stockholders meeting on Wednesday, Harbor Star president Geronimo Bella Jr. said the company was likewise looking for potential business in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Bella told reporters after the stockholders meeting that the company had already submitted a twin bid to operate tugboat services in Johor and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, both of which are located in Johor and are controlled by the same government-linked corporation. “We are awaiting results of the bidding.”

Three companies are vying to enter the Johor ports, which have a combined capacity of 7.5 to 8 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units—a gauge of cargo capacity). Harbor Star is up against companies from Singapore and Malaysia.

Apart from these projects in Johor, Harbor Star is also looking to enter another port in the Straits of Malacca and offer ship-to-ship cargo transfer services. It is also looking at another project in the northwest of the Malaysian peninsula.

For Harbor Star, Malaysia is the “hot” overseas market for it to expand and it hopes a deal would be concluded within the year. The company has already set aside P80 million for the downpayment on two vessels for its potential Malaysian expansion.

In Indonesia, the company is still under negotiations, while it is still studying the Vietnamese market.

Harbor Star, which ended last year with a fleet of 34 vessels operating in 66 ports across the Philippines, is likewise working on domestic expansion. This year, it is expanding in five new areas – Cebu, Iloilo, Surigao, General Santos and Dumaguete which will also require the purchase of new vessels.

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