JARDINE Shipping Services, an independent port agency operator in the Asia-Pacific region, is expanding its presence in Indonesia with the opening of its first office in the seaport city of Balikpapan located in the East Kalimantan province. This brings its total number of offices in the South East Asian nation to 13.

The new office will be providing services for bulk, tanker and multipurpose vessels in an area rich in natural resources. The city is also the base for the Balikpapan Coal Terminal, which has an annual throughput handling capacity of 15 million tonnes.

The company said in a statement that since entering the Indonesian shipping services market in 1995 it has established itself as a coal specialist at most of the local ports. "The new venture will enable us to offer our professional services to many more coal mine owners and charterers in Indonesia," said country manager Ron Godman.

The company's new office in Balikpapan will be managed by Imanuel Pessak, who been helping manage the company's operations in Indonesia over the past decade.

According to the group's chief executive Eric van der Hoeven, the plan is to establish more offices over the course of the year to add to its network that currently serves 53 ports throughout the archipelago.

Jardine Shipping Services handles in excess of 1,000 vessels per month and offers a range of port agency, liner agency and other shipping-related services catering to mining, oil, gas, container and specialty carriers. It has been engaged in shipping-related businesses for the past 180 years, and the group presently operates 55 offices, covering almost 200 ports throughout Asia, with a staff of 1,300.