News
The government of Malaysia has announced that it will abolish its cabotage restrictions on the route between East Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak and Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan) effective June 1, 2017. So far, domestic shipping services that link Peninsular Malaysia with East Malaysia have been operated exclusively with Malaysian-flagged vessels.
The cabotage policy that governs maritime transport between Peninsular Malaysia with East Malaysia was introduced in 1980. However, Kuala Lumpur has subscribed to claims from industry and local communities that point out the system leads to refraining competition, being responsible for the existing high freight rates.
