Swettenham Pier is a pier within the city of George Town in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

, Malaysia. Established in 1904, it is the busiest port-of-call in Malaysia for cruise shipping. The pier plays a vital role as a major entry point for tourists into Penang, aside from the Penang International Airport and land connections. Other than cruise shipping, Swettenham Pier, located at Weld Quay, has hosted warships as well. Navy ships from several nations, including Singapore, Thailand and the United States, have berthed at the pier in the past.

History

Japanese submarine I-10 at Penang port in 1942

Towards the end of the 19th century, as maritime traffic into the Port of Penang continued to increase and railway lines in the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

were being built, the expansion of the Port of Penang became crucial. The construction of Swettenham Pier, undertaken by engineers Coude, Sons and Matthews, commenced in 1901. Upon its completion in 1904, the T-shaped pier provided of wharfage. Originally, the pier was known as the Iron Pier'''. It was subsequently renamed Swettenham Pier, in honour of Frank Swettenham, the then Governor of the Straits Settlements. Swettenham Pier's initial capacity proved insufficient. In 1911, the pier was extended by to the north and to the south, bringing the overall length of the pier to . Between 1942 and 1944, at the height of World War II, the pier was used as a submarine base by the Japanese, German and Italian navies. Up until the late 1960s, steamers and other cargo vessels with a draft of up to used to dock at Swettenham Pier. The pier's heyday was abruptly ended, however, with the revocation of George Town's free port status by the

Malaysian federal government The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia ( ms, Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Malays ...

in 1969. In the early 2000s, Swettenham Pier was upgraded into a cruise shipping terminal. The Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal, with a new three-storey building and an aerobridge, was completed in 2009. George Town's cruise tourism industry has been booming ever since, with Swettenham Pier soon attracting cruise ships of increasing size, such as the ''

RMS Queen Mary 2 RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' (also referred to as the ''QM2'') is a British transatlantic ocean liner. She has served as the flagship of Cunard Line since succeeding ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' in 2004. As of 2022, ''Queen Mary 2'' is the only ocean liner ...

''. In 2017, Swettenham Pier overtook Port Klang as the busiest cruise shipping harbour in Malaysia. Plans have also been drawn up for the expansion of Swettenham Pier in the near future to accommodate larger cruise ships.

Operational statistics

References

{{Reflist

External links

Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal
Ports and harbours of Malaysia Ports and harbours of the Indian Ocean Buildings and structures in George Town, Penang Transport in Penang

History

Operational statistics

See also

References

External links