Swettenham Pier
{{Short description|Pier in George Town, Penang, Malaysia}}
{{Infobox pier
|name=Swettenham Pier
|image=Swettenham Pier in George Town, Penang 2023.jpg
|image_size=300
|carries=Cruise vessels
|spans=Penang Strait
|locale=20x20px George Town, Penang
|coordinates={{coord|5.418933|100.346329|display=title,inline}}
|type=|maint=Penang Port Sdn Bhd
|design=|construction=Coude, Sons & Matthews
|owner=Penang Port Commission
|length={{convert|400|m|ft|abbr=on}}{{Cite journal|title=Malaysia: A Preferred Cruise Destination|url=https://www.tourism.gov.my/pdf/uploads/Cruise_Feb_2016.pdf|journal=Tourism Malaysia}}
|map=Malaysia Penang George Town city centre
|map_text=Location within George Town, Penang
|open={{Start date and age|1904|df=yes}}
|extra={{designation list | embed=yes
| designation1 = WHS
| designation1_date = 2008 (32nd session)
| designation1_type = Cultural
| designation1_criteria = ii, iii, iv
| designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1223 1223]
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = Asia-Pacific
}}
}}
Swettenham Pier is a pier within the city of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Established in 1904, it is the busiest port-of-call in Malaysia for cruise shipping.{{Cite book|title=George Town's Historic Commercial and Civic Precincts|last=Langdon|first=Marcus|publisher=George Town World Heritage Incorporated|year=2014|location=Penang}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/12/20/swettenham-pier-surpasses-port-klang-top-port-call-cruise-ships|title=Swettenham Pier surpasses Port Klang as top port of call for cruise ships|website=www.thesundaily.my|language=en|access-date=2017-12-21}} The pier plays a vital role as a major entry point for tourists into Penang, aside from the Penang International Airport and land connections.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/12/18/penang-poised-register-record-year-tourism-numbers|title=Penang poised to register record year in tourism numbers|website=www.thesundaily.my|language=en|access-date=2017-12-21}}{{Cite web|url=http://penangmonthly.com/article.aspx?pageid=7879&name=taking_tourism_to_the_next_level|title=Taking tourism to the next level|last=Rosalind Chua, Richard Ho, Ong Wooi Leng|date=April 2010|website=Penang Monthly|access-date=2017-12-21}}
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.{{Cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19720301-1.2.64.aspx|title=Newspaper Article - S'pore gunboats call at Penang|website=eresources.nlb.gov.sg|access-date=18 October 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.visitpenang.gov.my/portal3/penang-tourism-news/1841-royal-thai-navys-visit-to-penang-.html|title=Royal Thai Navy's Visit to Penang|last=II|first=Administrator|website=www.visitpenang.gov.my|access-date=18 October 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2005/09/30/us-navy-ship-calls-at-penang/|title=US Navy ship calls at Penang - Community {{!}} The Star Online|website=www.thestar.com.my|access-date=18 October 2016}}
History
File:Japanese submarine I-10 at Penang port in 1942.jpg
File:Penang Malaysia Swettenham-Pier-01.jpg
File:Swettenham_Pier_Cruise_Terminal_2.jpg cruise ship at Swettenham Pier]]
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 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 {{Convert|600|feet|metre|abbr=on}} of wharfage.
Originally, the pier was known as the 'Iron Pier
Swettenham Pier's initial capacity proved insufficient. In 1911, the pier was extended by {{Convert|345|feet|metre|abbr=on}} to the north and {{Convert|255|feet|metre|abbr=on}} to the south, bringing the overall length of the pier to {{Convert|1200|feet|metre|abbr=on}}.
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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-yanagi-missions-japans-underwater-convoys.htm|title=World War II: Yanagi Missions -- Japan's Underwater Convoys {{!}} HistoryNet|website=www.historynet.com|date=12 June 2006 |access-date=15 October 2016}}{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217212106/http://www.icsm.it/regiamarina/orienteng.htm|title=Italian Royal Navy in World War Two: Italian surface units in Far East (archived)|last=Borsa|first=Arnaldo|website=www.icsm.it|access-date=15 October 2016}}
Up until the late 1960s, steamers and other cargo vessels with a draft of up to {{Convert|27|feet|metre|abbr=on}} 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 in 1969.{{Cite journal|last=Daniel Goh|first=P. S.|date=2014|title=Between History and Heritage: Post-Colonialism, Globalisation, and the Remaking of Malacca, Penang and Singapore|url=http://profile.nus.edu.sg/fass/socgohd/trans_2.1.pdf|journal=Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia|volume=2}}{{Cite book|title=A Modern History of Southeast Asia: Decolonization, Nationalism and Separatism|last=Christie|first=Clive|publisher=I.B.Tauris|year=1998|isbn=978-1-86064-354-5}}{{Cite web|url=http://penangmonthly.com/article.aspx?pageid=2568&name=where_the_sea_meets_the_city_is_where_the_world_meets_penang|title=Where the Sea Meets the City is Where the World Meets Penang|last=Evelyn Teh|date=July 2016|website=Penang Monthly|access-date=2017-11-30}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2010/11/25/the-man-behind-penangs-economic-transformation/|title=The man behind Penang's economic transformation|website=The Star|access-date=2017-11-30}}
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.{{Cite web|url=http://penangport.com.my/Services/Swettenham-Pier-Cruise-Terminal|title=Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal|website=Port of Penang}} 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.{{Cite news|url=http://penangmonthly.com/article.aspx?pageid=2947&name=is_penangs_tourism_on_the_right_track?|title=Is Penang's tourism on the right track?|last=Filmer|first=Andrea|date=1 October 2015|newspaper=Penang Monthly|access-date=17 October 2016|language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite news|url=http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/royal-caribbean-mulls-penang-as-home-port-after-pier-expansion|title=Royal Caribbean mulls Penang as home port after pier expansion|last=Opalyn Mok|date=2017-05-05|work=Malay Mail|access-date=2017-05-27}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2017/05/15/more-voyages-to-penang-this-year-royal-caribbean-to-increase-port-calls-and-bring-in-140000-passenge/|title=More voyages to Penang this year - Community {{!}} The Star Online|website=www.thestar.com.my|access-date=2017-05-27}}
Operational statistics
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://penangport.gov.my/en/facilities-services/swettenham-pier Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal]
Category:Ports and harbours of Malaysia
Category:Ports and harbours of the Indian Ocean