PORT KLANG: The transport sector Covid-19 vaccination programme for the maritime industry has so far managed to immunise 4,000 seafarers and port workers.
Port Klang Authority (PKA) general manager Capt K. Subramaniam said the programme, which was kickstarted by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin on June 25, is expected to benefit 10,000 frontline workers in Port Klang.
The vaccination exercise is being carried out at the PKA Sports and Recreation Club here.
“The first four days of this initial phase have been smooth and orderly with the number of vaccine recipients within the estimated target of 1,000 a day,’’ Subramaniam said in a statement on Thursday (July 1).
He added PKA was targeting 10,000 seafarers, port workers and logistics personnel to complete the first dose of vaccination by July 6.
“Thereafter, the administration of the second dose will begin from July 16, 2021 until July 25, 2021,’’ said Subramaniam.
According to Subramaniam, PKA was also working closely with the Transport Ministry and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry to vaccinate an additional 15,000 people working in the port and logistics sector including employees of shipping and forwarding companies, hauliers and port ancillary services in Port Klang.
“It is hoped these efforts will provide added protection for the workforce and help accelerate Malaysia’s economic recovery with the port and shipping sector playing a decisive role,’’ Subramaniam.
Maritime Pilots Malaysia (MPM) president and chairman Capt Martin Lim, who received his first dose at the PKA vaccination centre on Wednesday, said he was happy the maritime industry workers were finally being vaccinated.
“It should have been done earlier but at least the maritime and port sector workers are finally being vaccinated,’’ said Lim.
He said for now, the government was focusing on vaccinating seafarers and port workers in Selangor, Labuan, Negri Sembilan and Melaka.
“I hope the vaccination exercise will be extended soon to seafarers and port workers in the rest of Sabah as well as Sarawak, Penang, Pahang, Terengganu, Perak and Johor,’’ said Lim.
Meanwhile, Selangor Freight Forwarders and Logistics Association (SFFLA) president Datuk Tony Chia said his organisation was working closely with PKA, the Transport Ministry and Mosti to get the industry’s frontliners vaccinated.
He said the industry’s stakeholders and associations were concerned over the safety of their frontliners, namely the runners, who go to the ports as well as relevant agencies to carry out tasks such as Customs clearance almost on a daily basis.
“We submitted more than 3,000 names and requested for our frontliners to be vaccinated.
“So far, about 700 of them will be vaccinated from the 10,000 doses that have been allocated to the maritime industry,’’ said Chia.
Chia said he hoped the government will top-up the Covid-19 vaccination doses that are given to the maritime sector currently so that it can be extended to the other sectors in the shipping industry as well.
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