First docking of large ship: RI enters global logistics network
This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Bisnis Indonesia - Sandar perdana kapal besar: RI masuk jaringan logistik global
1 November 2022
By: Anitana W. Puspa and Hendra Wibawa
The shipping company CMA CGM places Indonesia as an important part of the global shipment and logistics business after bringing the large capacity ship Alexander Von Humboldt to Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta.
CMA CGM President Director John Lim explained that the main line operator (MLO) has served 420 ports and operated 275 shipping routes globally.
In Indonesia, CMA CGM is providing three large capacity ships that can accommodate up to 16,000 TEUs to serve direct shipping from Jakarta to the United States of America (USA). “These large ships will optimise travel between Indonesia and the USA,” he said during the maiden call of CMA CGM’s largest vessel Alexander Von Humboldt at Tajung Priok Port in Jakarta on Monday (31/10).
During the activity, the Alexander Von Humboldt ship docked for the first time at Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) in Tanjung Priok. This CMA CGM’s ship has a capacity of 16,000 TEUS, which is a new record of the largest ship that has ever docked in Indonesia.
The ship is used for the Transpacific Columbus JAX service. In the next few years, other ships with a capacity of 16,000 TEUs will arrive, namely CMA CGM Jules Verne and CMA CGM Marco Polo that will also visit JICT.
CMA CGM Asia Pacific CEO Laurent Olmeta added that CMA CGM had offered seven shipment services that will make more than 50 visits to Indonesia every week. Some of the services include the JAX Columbus service that will visit JICT every week. The JAX Columbus service connects Indonesia with ports in the USA, supported by 19 ships that include CMA CGM Alexander Von Humboldt.
With the armada of large ships, Olemta said that CMP CGM would be able to bring more containers each trip with seamless connectivity to the east and west coast of the USA.
“CMA CGM Alexander Von Humboldt will depart from Indonesia with garments, footwears, furniture, and other local products,” he explained.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi explained that the CMA CGM’s ship spans 400 meters, which is the same as four football stations. The arrival of the large ship shows that Indonesia is increasingly attractive among MLOs as they would like to provide one relatively large ship to make direct call to the USA.
“With large ships and direct call, the logistics cost that we bear will be cheaper so that the competitiveness of Indonesia in shipping goods will be cheaper,” he said.
Budi is asking related stakeholders to not be satisfied with themselves after the arrival of the large ship as the effort to supress logistics costs cannot be carried out alone.
“We require cooperation among operators and shipping liners. On land, we also have to implement a program,” he added.
Sea Transportation Director General of the Transportation Ministry Arif Toha is targeting the trade volume between Indonesia and the USA to grow by double digits at the end of this year along with the improvement in the marine connectivity between the two countries.
The Transportation Ministry hopes that cargo around Java can go to Tanjung Priok Port first before going to their destination country rather than Singapore. Hence, logistics costs will be more competitive so that Tanjung Priok Port can be a transhipment port in Southeast Asia.
This is a big opportunity for exporters in Indonesia to deliver goods in a short amount of time in only 23 days and to minimise transhipment handling at various ports.
