New Malaysian PM - New Attitudes, New Approaches, New Bridge
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A definitely surprising change in attitude a new Prime Minister from Malaysia can bring to the old hard line attitude of a nation's psyche.
A more realistic approach in straightening the bridge, also brought out a more realistic approach that Singapore's acceptance must be given for the Causeway to be demolished - a far cry from the go-it-alone attitude of the previous Malaysian PM.
The attitude of the Malaysian Foreign Minister has soften tremendously, since he managed to keep his post in the new Cabinet of the New PM Abdullah A. Badawi (or more affectionately called 'Pak Lah' by all Malaysians).
'Pak Lah' was the Malaysian Foreign Minister before taking on the role of being the Deputy Prime Minister, and as the previous FM, he had a tremendously good relationship with almost everyone in the Singapore Cabinet.
The humilty of 'Pak Lah' to plan a visit to Singapore to present the design of the 'New Bridge' to replace the Causeway, certainly is a refreshing approach in bilateral relationship.
Is there a new waft of fresh air clearing the old ways of business in the Malaysian Government, in the manner that they conduct business with the Singapore Government ?
No more the 'Abang and Adek' mind set ?
KL to show S'pore new designs for causeway
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia will submit fresh proposals to Singapore to try to resolve an impasse over a new bridge Malaysia wants to build to connect the two neighbours, news reports said on Monday.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is expected to soon present Singaporean officials with new design ideas for the bridge, which would replace a causeway that nearly 100,000 Malaysians currently use to commute to work in the city-state, said Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.
The official Bernama news agency quoted him as having said: 'We will then see what Singapore's response is. I think if there is a right spirit on both sides, these are matters which are not impossible to resolve.'
Malaysian officials have said the new bridge, which it hopes to complete by the end of 2005, would ease congestion and boost passenger flow between the two countries.
The project had earlier been part of a package deal that included an extension of Malaysia's water supply to Singapore beyond 2061.
But the plan stalled when Malaysia called off talks in 2002, after it alleged that Singapore was not prepared to pay fair rates for the water. The two sides did not agree on a design for the new bridge before the talks collapsed.
Malaysian officials said last year they did not need approval from Singapore to begin work on the bridge. But without the Republic's approval, the new bridge could end dangling in the middle of Johor Strait, which separates the two neighbours.
Singapore's Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar recently said that Malaysia would be violating international law if it unilaterally pursues the plan to demolish its side of the causeway and start work on a new bridge.
Leaders of both countries said last month they wanted to work to settle a string of disputes that have hampered relations for years, including territorial claims, the price of water that Malaysia supplies to Singapore, and the use of military airspace. -- AP
Extracted from the Straits Times, Tuesday Edition, 3 Feb 2004
This news article will be archived from the following site by
6 Feb 2004:
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/latest/story/0,4390,233136-1075759140,00.html? -
Talking about the bridge only, I support the broadening of the causeway. However I will not accept it if it will allows ship, no matter how small to be able to pass through it.
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The idea from the previous PM Mahatir is CRAP.
Only a fool will believe that Ocean Going Vessels can sail through the piers of the Second Link Bridge at Tanjong Pelapas-Tuas, from the Straits of Malacca, through the Straits of Johor, and exiting at Changi Point to the South China Sea.
From the sea front Raffles Marina Cafe at Tuas, one can observe how close the distances are, between the piers supporting the Second Link Bridge at Tuas, and it was most ridiculously creative of the previous PM Mahatir to come up with his dream of ships sailing in both directions of the Straits of Johor.
If one is to study the Marine Charts along the entire length of the Straits of Johor, one can see that the deeper parts of the Straits is closer to the shoreline of Singapore.
Currently, ships entering the Straits of Johor from the eastern opening, must sail through the sea channel between Pulau Tekong and Changi Point - through Singapore territorial waters.
The sea channel between the northern side of Pulau Tekong and Pulau Ubin towards Johor coastline, is too shallow for any ocean going vessels to sail through the Malaysian side of the Straits of Johor.
All ships sailing through the Straits of Johor will have to sail on the Singapore side of the Straits.
With the Western side of the Straits being narrower, between the shores of Johor and Singapore, there will be navigation problems when ships sail pass each other in opposite directions.
To allow Ocean Going Vessels to sail under the New Bridge, this bridge will have to have sufficient room below to allow such ships to sail at the highest tide charted.
This height is definitely not available at the Second Link Bridge. -
It depends on how big the ship is going to be. If it is huge tanker, of course it can't pass through Pulau Ubin. However wat if the ships r small tugboats ? The strategy is to let big tankers dock at Malaysia port while small tugboats will take their place to transport goods to the nearby region.
If a bridge is made, r u certain that after water is able to pass under the causeway the water level in pulau ubin won't sufficiently rise since the deposits in it get carried away by the water. Note tat for many years, sentiments had been deposited at this narrow straits since it is close at the end.
And wat is to stop Malaysia from slightly cutting their side of the shore make it deeper to allow ships to go through ?
Now the ball is in their court and they have a chance to do it, even though the scale of work involved may be big. Remember good and crazy minister comes and goes, but things concerning about the causeway is almost forever. I do not want to take chances. -
i quite agree that the idea of letting ships pass through the straits is silly also...
the amount of traffic that is projected for such a massive project would have to be (a) viable to m'sia (b) threatening to Sg...
u'll probably end up with a massive congestion on both ends of the straits, even if it was deep enough. depth isn't the problem... u can always dredge
but are they gonna dig up J.B and make it into a massive canal zone to widen their side of the straits? i don't think so... -
When we made a decision, it is by weighing the pros and cons. If it is all pros and no cons, then there shouldn't be a dilemma in implementing the idea straight away. If it is all cons and no pros, then forget it, the idea is silly
For the bridge issue, if water is allow to flow through the causeway, wat benefits do singapore get ?
If we let the old causeway remains, or we improves the structure using the existence foundations, the cost will be kept lower too isn't it ? And another problem I had raised is the potential of Malaysian to allow small boats like tugboats to pass through. The straits may be narrow, but the ship now r more nimble. I for one do not want to take this chance. -
i say lift the causeway and let the water under the straits flow.
and this is purely from an environmental point of view. -
What is the difference between a 'huge' tanker and a 'big' tanker ?Originally posted by stupidissmart:It depends on how big the ship is going to be. If it is huge tanker, of course it can't pass through Pulau Ubin. However wat if the ships r small tugboats ? The strategy is to let big tankers dock at Malaysia port while small tugboats will take their place to transport goods to the nearby region.
'Tugboats' do NOT transport goods at all, they merely 'TUG' the bigger ships, and guide them in or out of their berthing place.
Sembawang Shipyard sits at the northern end of Singapore, and the location of Pasir Gudang is about 'diagonally' opposite.
SS'yard was previously the Far East Naval Base for the Royal Navy, and converted into a civilian shipyard, with a new drydock that is 400,000 dwt. From its website, the sea draught is recorded to be between 9 to 20 meters - according to the tide.
Pasir Gudang was a collection of villages, with the Port itself previously a Fishing Village. Massive dredging works were executed to create sufficient draught for ocean going vessels.
Next to Pasir Gudang Port is the Malaysia Shipyard and Engineering, with drydocks able to repair ships of up to 450,000 dwt.
Sembawang Shipyard
http://www.sembship.com/corporate/history/history_60.asp
http://www.interyards.com/sembawang.htm
Pasir Gudang
http://www.pbtpasirgudang.gov.my/PasirGudang-e/Pengenalan/MaklumatKorporat/sejarah.htm
Malaysia Shipyard and Engineering.
http://www.mse.com.my/continuing post by stupidissmart:
I will give you an OSCAR equivalent for great scientific thinking.
If a bridge is made, [b]r u certain that after water is able to pass under the causeway the water level in pulau ubin won't sufficiently rise since the deposits in it get carried away by the water. [/b]
For Achimedean Principle to work, the amount of water rise or displaced, will depend on the amount of mass being added - NOT removed.
A rise in sea water level around Pulau Ubin, caused by water being released with the existing Causeway being demolished ?
The deposits have been - since time immemorial - flowing down the rivers from Peninsula Malaya into the Straits, with or without the bridge, the deposits have been carried and flowing in and around the vicinity of Ubin and Tekong.
See Archimedean Principle:
http://www.andrews.edu/~calkins/math/biograph/bioarch.htmcontinuing post by stupidissmart:
The bad Political SENTIMENTS have certainly been flowing from the north and dumped on us at the Straits of Johor - causing all the shallow feelings that exist on both sides of the Straits.
Note tat for many years, sentiments had been deposited at this narrow straits since it is close at the end.
So have the SEDIMENTS brought down by the rivers in Peninsula Malaya that make the Malaysian side of the Johor Straits continuously shallow, and FORCING all ocean going vessels to sail on the Singapore side of the Johor Straits.continuing post by stupidissmart:
Nothing except the budget - and its their ringgit anyway.
And wat is to stop Malaysia from slightly cutting their side of the shore make it deeper to allow ships to go through ?
Nothing can stop Malaysia to do anything to do whatever they must do; but certainly the cutting on their side will be anything except 'SLIGHTLY'.
It will have to be a major effort in not only cutting the sides of the shore lines, but also DREDGING THE SEA BED for the ENTIRE DISTANCE of the Johor Straits - beginning from the mouth of the Straits.
If the Southern Ports located in Johor State are to be successful - especially that at Pasir Gudang - they will need to have enough manouvering space along the Johor Straits.
Johor State will have to see a major land slip into the waters of the Straits - up to 1 km wide, along its entire southern coastline facing Singapore, which will result in the loss of Johor Bahru, including the majestic Sultan's Palace, the Straits View Hotel, and quite a large cut of commercial, industrial and residential properties.continuing post by stupidissmart:
Surely, the ball is in their court, and as PM GCT had said they will have to give us a good reason why the existing Causeway need to be demolished, and replaced with a new bridge that will cost us at least $500million.
Now the ball is in their court and they have a chance to do it, even though the scale of work involved may be big. Remember good and crazy minister comes and goes, but things concerning about the causeway is almost forever. I do not want to take chances.
Perhaps for the sake of long term goodwill between the two countries, Singapore will probably accept the New Bridge being constructed. This will result it being the key to open the deadlock on the Water Issues, Railway Land, CIQ, CPF belonging to Malaysian workers, and any other side issues that have been political baggage hanging over our relations for the last 30 years.
Will the New Bridge present any 'LIFE THREATENING' issues to Singapore's well being ?
The New Bridge can hardly allow ocean going vessels to sail in both directions of the Straits, as the piers supporting the bridge at the Second Link are too narrow - and the underside of the bridge is too low - to allow even coastal ships at 6000 dwt to sail through the piers. -
Maybe the tugboat is a wrong term to use. However from a website from Maesk, the width of a boat can go to as low as 25m. HOw wide is the causeway ? It is 1056 m, which can be considered as the shortest distance between singapore and malaysia. HOw many 25 metres ship can filled 1 km ? 40 ships sailing side by side. How wide do u think suez canal is ? The minimum width is 60m Wat is the problem then ? About your traffic issue, they can follow Suez Canal and state that the ship should move in one direction only. It is achievable
http://www.maersksealand.com/
http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fi-cias.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Feo-direct-frame.pl%3Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fi-cias.com%2Fe.o%2Fsuez_can.htm
And wat has your sembawang shipyard got to do with anything ? All it ever says is tat OCEAN going vessel can go through half of the route along singapore, and a small one can easily navigates for the remaining journey. In the past singapore is able to dredge to make the water deeper. Do u think malaysia can't do the same for area near pulau ubin ?
http://www.mse.com.my/businesses/shiprepair.htmlI will give you an OSCAR equivalent for great scientific thinking.
I believe u probably fail to understand tat I am NOT talking about your regular BATHTUB. We r talking about the sea currents movement ! If the bridge is clear, sea current will be able to flow freely not just at the southen end of singapore but at the northen end as well. During certain seasons, due to the different temperature of different bodies of water, sea current will moves from the eastern end of singapore to the western end or vice versa. Since the velocity of these water is fast, they will tend to cary away sendiments with them. As such, the depth of the water around the region will goes deeper. If these water is through, it will be able to clear away the sentiments brought over by the malaysia river as well.
For Achimedean Principle to work, the amount of water rise or displaced, will depend on the amount of mass being added - NOT removed.
A rise in sea water level around Pulau Ubin, caused by water being released with the existing Causeway being demolished ?
The deposits have been - since time immemorial - flowing down the rivers from Peninsula Malaya into the Straits, with or without the bridge, the deposits have been carried and flowing in and around the vicinity of Ubin and Tekong.
Is the water distance between singapore and malaysia really tat shallow ? I doubt it as 60m in distance will be sufficient for small vessel to pass through like in Suez Canal. Will the work involved be tat incredibly great ? We r working on existing sea bodies (not dry land) with the new improved technology today, for a short distance. Do u think malaysia cannot afford to do such work ?
Nothing except the budget - and its their ringgit anyway.
Nothing can stop Malaysia to do anything to do whatever they must do; but certainly the cutting on their side will be anything except 'SLIGHTLY'.
It will have to be a major effort in not only cutting the sides of the shore lines, but also DREDGING THE SEA BED for the ENTIRE DISTANCE of the Johor Straits - beginning from the mouth of the Straits.
If the Southern Ports located in Johor State are to be successful - especially that at Pasir Gudang - they will need to have enough manouvering space along the Johor Straits.
Johor State will have to see a major land slip into the waters of the Straits - up to 1 km wide, along its entire southern coastline facing Singapore, which will result in the loss of Johor Bahru, including the majestic Sultan's Palace, the Straits View Hotel, and quite a large cut of commercial, industrial and residential properties.
The bridge can be built, but it cannot allow water to flow through. If they just wanted the causeway to modernise, it can still be done, and more cheaper and safer if the old foundation is left alone. We can still negotiate with the malaysian since their main objective is just to modernise the causeway. Wat pros do we have for making the water being able to pass through ? It may turn life threathening if we r too complacent.
Surely, the ball is in their court, and as PM GCT had said they will have to give us a good reason why the existing Causeway need to be demolished, and replaced with a new bridge that will cost us at least $500million.
Perhaps for the sake of long term goodwill between the two countries, Singapore will probably accept the New Bridge being constructed. This will result it being the key to open the deadlock on the Water Issues, Railway Land, CIQ, CPF belonging to Malaysian workers, and any other side issues that have been political baggage hanging over our relations for the last 30 years.
Will the New Bridge present any 'LIFE THREATENING' issues to Singapore's well being ?
The New Bridge can hardly allow ocean going vessels to sail in both directions of the Straits, as the piers supporting the bridge at the Second Link are too narrow - and the underside of the bridge is too low - to allow even coastal ships at 6000 dwt to sail through the piers. -
if they complained on our reclaiming disturbing the environment what should we do if they decided to dig up the seabed?
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why would any ships want to waste their time docking at 1 end of malaysia, to put them ships onto smaller boats to ship to the other end at pasir gudang, only to re-load it back onto another ship when they can save all that trouble and just dock at singapore and let us handle it?
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WHy do u think they will have a problem docking at one end of malaysia, then change to a smaller boat and send the goods directly to the region ? They could easily use the smaller ship and sails direct to Indonesia, Vietnam etc isn't it ? Wat is more, these smaller vessel can still fare well in seas. Wat is the problem of them travelling directly to Australia or China if the goods tat need to be transported isn't of a great volume ?
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Water levels rise by the tides, by gravitational pulls of the moon and the sun, and by the melting of the polar caps that ADD NEW VOLUME OF WATER into the OCEAN.Originally posted by stupidissmart:
Maybe the tugboat is a wrong term to use. However from a website from Maesk, the width of a boat can go to as low as 25m. HOw wide is the causeway ? It is 1056 m, which can be considered as the shortest distance between singapore and malaysia. HOw many 25 metres ship can filled 1 km ? 40 ships sailing side by side. How wide do u think suez canal is ? The minimum width is 60m, Wat is the problem then ? About your traffic issue, they can follow Suez Canal and state that the ship should move in one direction only. It is achievable
http://www.maersksealand.com/
http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fi-cias.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Feo-direct-frame.pl%3Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fi-cias.com%2Fe.o%2Fsuez_can.htm
And wat has your sembawang shipyard got to do with anything ? All it ever says is tat OCEAN going vessel can go through half of the route along singapore, and a small one can easily navigates for the remaining journey. In the past singapore is able to dredge to make the water deeper. Do u think malaysia can't do the same for area near pulau ubin ?
http://www.mse.com.my/businesses/shiprepair.html[/quote]
I am not sure if there is any point to debate with you, considering the line of thought that you prefer to take. It will be embarrassing for me to sink the positions that you put yourself in.Firstly, Sembawang Shipyard was mentioned as a reference to indicate that ships (not only huge or big ships) up to 400,000dwt can sail up the Straits of Johor - from the eastern side, which is Changi-Ubin-Tekong channel.
You had made a moot statement previously, concerning the need to use 'tug' boats to transfer cargo and sail up the Straits towards Pasir Gudang Port.
Secondly, if you only look at the widest part of the Straits of Johor as 1056 meters, are you not a little 'shortsighted' in your thinking by not looking at also the NARROWEST part of the Straits ?
Considering that the Malaysian half of the Straits of Johor is too shallow for ocean going ships to sail - due to the SEDIMENTS flowing down the main rivers from Peninsular Malaysia - the 1056m width is practically useless to even be considered.
Map of Singapore and surrounding sea channels
http://www.divetravel.info/destinations/southeastasia/singapore_zoom.htm
Thirdly, based on the above second point, is there any possibility of lining up 44 ships side by side, and sail up the Straits of Johor.
Hmmm, I wonder who can be so foolish to even think of this approach ?
The PORT must be built to receive the SIZE of SHIPS that Shipping Lines build for the most economical and profitable returns.
No one build planes to fit airports, but airports are constantly upgraded to receive bigger planes. Surely you have heard your idols mention - Improve and Upgrade or Loose Out ?
Fourthly, there are Port Navigation Rules to be observed, in which safety distances are to be maintained between vessels.
With large ocean going vessels needing large expanse of space to manouvre or come to a stop, safety distances become critical in the Straits of Johor.
Reference: East Johor Straits Pilotage Guidelines
http://www.mpa.gov.sg/homepage/services/pilotguide/definitions_miscellaneous_guidelines.pdf
Fifthly, you seem to have a preference to take the numbers out of context for your planned counter to my post.
You consider the 1056m length of the Causeway, as an indicative of the continuous equi-distant width of the Straits of Johor, without considering the lesser value at the narrowest choke point between Singapore and Johor, or Singapore and Ubin or Tekong.
You prefer to look at only the size of 22meters being the beam or width of a Maersk Line ship (what kind you did not mention).
For the Malaysian Ports of Pasir Gudang or Tanjong Pelapas, or even Singapore's PSA, to be profitable - these ports will need to receive the largest container ships, very large crude carriers (VLCC), or Roll-on Roll-off Car Carriers (Ro-Ro Ships).
Most of these vessels have a beam of 30 to 40 meters, and their lenght will be over 200 to 300 meters (or about 2 to 3 football field).
Safety distance will have to be keenly observed, and if you care to look up the Port Navigation Rules, the viability of Malaysian Government Plan will be questioned.
SeaSpan Container Line – Ship Specs
http://www.seaspancontainerlines.com/specs.pdf
Evergreen 78000 GWT Capacity: 6,724 x 20ft Container Vessel – Ship Specs
http://www.mhi.co.jp/enews/e_0953.html
Atlantic Container Line – RO-RO Ship Specs
http://www.aclcargo.com/index2.htm
Kyokuyo Shipyard Container Carrier Design
http://www.kyokuyoshipyard.com/pdfs/a5760hp.pdf
American Shipping Line – Container Ship
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/president_polk.htmcontinuing post by stupidissmart:
I believe u probably fail to understand tat I am NOT talking about your regular BATHTUB. We r talking about the sea currents movement ! If the bridge is clear, sea current will be able to flow freely not just at the southen end of singapore but at the northen end as well. During certain seasons, due to the different temperature of different bodies of water, sea current will moves from the eastern end of singapore to the western end or vice versa. Since the velocity of these water is fast, they will tend to cary away sendiments with them. As such, the depth of the water around the region will goes deeper. If these water is through, it will be able to clear away the sentiments brought over by the malaysia river as well.
I will give you an OSCAR equivalent for great scientific thinking.
For Achimedean Principle to work, the amount of water rise or displaced, will depend on the amount of mass being added - NOT removed.
A rise in sea water level around Pulau Ubin, caused by water being released with the existing Causeway being demolished ?
The deposits have been - since time immemorial - flowing down the rivers from Peninsula Malaya into the Straits, with or without the bridge, the deposits have been carried and flowing in and around the vicinity of Ubin and Tekong.
Whatever amount of surface water that is taken up by evaporation of the sun, will return in about the same volume as rain.
This is new scientific thinking on your part that with a faster flow of sea current - as a result of the removal of a massive obstructing Causeway, and the building of a New Bridge - sediments are removed by faster flow of water - which will rise to swamp over Singapore Island (?)
With a faster flow of sea current, the sediments will be carried from one place and DEPOSITED AGAIN to ANOTHER.LOCATION.
The faster sea current will at best wear out the sea bed at some places, making it deeper (as you had correctly indicated), but it cannot possibly increase the VOLUME of the WATER to affect exposed land mass. -
Build a bridge that 'cannot allow water to flow through' ? What kind of bridge will this be, if water cannot flow BENEATH it ?continuing post by stupidissmart:
Is the water distance between singapore and malaysia really tat shallow ? I doubt it as 60m in distance will be sufficient for small vessel to pass through like in Suez Canal. Will the work involved be tat incredibly great ? We r working on existing sea bodies (not dry land) with the new improved technology today, for a short distance. Do u think malaysia cannot afford to do such work ? [/quote]
Will you look at the map of Singapore again - and note the length of the entire Straits of Johor ?
http://www.divetravel.info/destinations/southeastasia/singapore_zoom.htm
From the following site of Johor Port of Pasir Gudang, you can observe the depth posted as between only 5 to 13 meters:
http://www.portsworld.com/ports/johorport.htm
From the sites of the various shipping lines given in the preceding posting, you will note that the depth (or height from hull bottom to main deck surface) of most high capacity container ships is more then 19 meters, with a sea draft of 11 meters (from water line to hull bottom).
The depth of the entire length of the Straits of Johor will have to be able to cope with this kind of traffic.
You question - 'Can Malaysia afford it ?' - which should be replied by Malaysians, one of whom seems to express the general feelings that this bridge is a waste of their resource, when there are more urgent issues that need government attention.
Try digesting this:A Malaysian Perspective: New Johor Bridge – A mega-Folly
http://www.malaysia.net/lists/sangkancil/2001-09/msg00059.htmlcontinuing post by stupidissmart:
The bridge can be built, but it cannot allow water to flow through. If they just wanted the causeway to modernise, it can still be done, and more cheaper and safer if the old foundation is left alone.
Surely, the ball is in their court, and as PM GCT had said they will have to give us a good reason why the existing Causeway need to be demolished, and replaced with a new bridge that will cost us at least $500million.
Perhaps for the sake of long term goodwill between the two countries, Singapore will probably accept the New Bridge being constructed. This will result it being the key to open the deadlock on the Water Issues, Railway Land, CIQ, CPF belonging to Malaysian workers, and any other side issues that have been political baggage hanging over our relations for the last 30 years.
Will the New Bridge present any 'LIFE THREATENING' issues to Singapore's well being ?
The New Bridge can hardly allow ocean going vessels to sail in both directions of the Straits, as the piers supporting the bridge at the Second Link are too narrow - and the underside of the bridge is too low - to allow even coastal ships at 6000 dwt to sail through the piers.
No one is disputing with this fact that the Causeway can be upgraded to handle a larger volume of traffic, and that water in the Straits of Johor can flow through the Causeway - with the addition of 'Large Diameter Through-pipes' being build into the Causeway for this purpose.continuing post by stupidissmart:
As mentioned in my earlier posting, the idea from the previous Malaysian PM Mahatir to allow Shipping to sail through the Straits of Johor - (from the Straits of Malacca and South China Sea) - is ridiculous, and cannot work.
We can still negotiate with the malaysian since their main objective is just to modernise the causeway. Wat pros do we have for making the water being able to pass through ? It may turn life threathening if we r too complacent.
This is due to the existing Second Link Bridge that connect the Singapore side at Tuas, to the Malaysian side at Gelang Patah, that has a low underside to the water surface, and also the supporting legs or piers of the bridge are too close.
Even at the center of the bridge, with the seemingly widest opening between the supporting piers, the available channel is less then 90 meters, and with a very restrictive headroom - that will will be made more critical at high tides.
Second Link Pics
http://www.linkedua.com/linkedua/pg3.asp
The Western side of the Johor Straits - between Tuas Second Link and the Causeway - will be travelling across the SAFTI Live Firing Area, and the distance between Singapore and Johor coastlines are even narrower (not forgetting the shallower waters on the Malaysian side of the Straits). -
Originally posted by stupidissmart:
The Malaysian Ports of Tanjong Pelapas do not have problems docking ocean going ships.
WHy do u think they will have a problem docking at one end of malaysia, then change to a smaller boat and send the goods directly to the region ?
Pasir Gudang located near to the center of the Johor Straits will certainly have a big problem, due to the shallow waters in this Straits.
Both have a problem to compete with Singapore, and can only do so by dropping their prices to non-profitable levels - just so as to grab clienteles from Singapore PSA.continuing post by stupidissmart:
It has to do with PROFITABILITY and ECONOMIC VIABILITY for the Shipping Lines to use ever larger ships to 'move more at one go'.
They could easily use the smaller ship and sails direct to Indonesia, Vietnam etc isn't it ? Wat is more, these smaller vessel can still fare well in seas.Wat is the problem of them travelling directly to Australia or China if the goods tat need to be transported isn't of a great volume ?
Similar to airlines using bigger planes to carry more over a SINGLE long distance trip. -
Geographical conditions aside, navigation of such a strait as suggested by stupidissmart is not entirely logical, nor condusive to the Malaysian part. The Suez canal (or Kra Canal, if it's ever built) is taken out of necessity as the alternative is a much, much longer trip around the long end.
however, the island of Singapore does not represent such a great Bocking mass and it will be far more economical, faster, and safer to travel around the long way with top notch ports in the way then inch along through a tiny congested bottleneck for safety purposes. Good luck to Malaysia if they want to expore, let alone advertise this alternative.