Port of Penang (Georgetown)
In short
Penang (Georgetown): no ships detected in port from AIS in the last 3 days (as of Oct 6, 2026, 14:40 UTC). Coverage depends on AIS reception in the area.
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- In port now
- 0
- Arrivals, last 24 h
- 0
- Departures, last 24 h
- 0
- Ships nearby, last 6 h
- 0
Vessels near Penang (Georgetown)
Ships Voydar received on AIS near the port in the last 6 hours, most recent first. Being near a port is not a port call; the board above lists calls.
No vessels detected near Penang (Georgetown) in the last 6 hours. As our AIS coverage grows, arrivals and departures will appear here live.
Harbour & facilities
Harbour particulars for Penang (Georgetown) from the NGA World Port Index (WPI port no. 49850). Depths in metres as charted by NGA.
- Harbour size
- Medium
- Harbour type
- Coastal (natural)
- Shelter
- Good
- Channel depth
- 9 m
- Anchorage depth
- 8 m
- Cargo pier depth
- 6 m
- Oil terminal depth
- 8 m
- Mean tide
- 2 m
- Pilotage compulsory
- Yes
- First port of entry
- Yes
- Repairs
- Limited
- Dry dock
- Large
Source: NGA World Port Index (Pub. 150). Licence: US Government public domain.
Not for navigation.
Forecast
Model forecast for Penang (Georgetown) over the next 72 hours, every 6 hours: wind, gusts, waves and visibility. Times in UTC.
| Time (UTC) | Wind (kn) | From | Gusts (kn) | Waves (m) | Period (s) | Visibility (km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 225° | 7 | 0.3 | 3 | 24 | |
| 2 | 72° | 5 | 0.2 | 3 | 24 | |
| 2 | 146° | 6 | 0.2 | 3 | 22 | |
| 7 | 242° | 18 | 0.2 | 3 | 24 | |
| 3 | 263° | 6 | 0.2 | 3 | 24 | |
| 3 | 63° | 6 | 0.1 | 3 | 17 | |
| 2 | 348° | 6 | 0.1 | 3 | 24 | |
| 6 | 281° | 12 | 0.2 | 3 | 24 | |
| 3 | 295° | 7 | 0.2 | 3 | 24 | |
| 2 | 53° | 5 | 0.2 | 3 | 20 | |
| 2 | 311° | 9 | 0.2 | 3 | 19 |
Forecast: ECMWF IFS 0.25° + ECMWF WAM, run of Oct 6, 2026, 00:00 UTC. Visibility: NOAA GFS 0.25° + GFS-Wave (WAVEWATCH III), run of Oct 6, 2026, 06:00 UTC. Waves are taken from the wave model's nearest sea point, 12 km away.
Source: ECMWF open data (IFS 0.25° forecasts, ECMWF WAM waves). This service is based on data and products of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Source: www.ecmwf.int. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Licence: CC-BY-4.0 + ECMWF Terms of Use.
Source: NOAA GFS 0.25° and GFS-Wave (WAVEWATCH III) forecasts. Forecast: NOAA NCEP GFS / GFS-Wave (WAVEWATCH III). Licence: US Government work (public domain); NOAA Open Data Dissemination.
A model forecast, not an observation. Not for navigation.
Penang (Georgetown): daily port calls from satellite AIS (IMF PortWatch)
Estimates published by the International Monetary Fund's PortWatch, built from satellite and terrestrial AIS. They cover waters our own receivers do not reach yet. These are the IMF's figures, not Voydar's counts.
The IMF estimates 28 port calls in the 7 days and 136 in the 30 days to Sep 25, 2026. That is 8% less than the same 30 days a year earlier (148).
- Container
- 58
- Tanker
- 55
- Dry bulk
- 15
- General cargo
- 8
- Ro-ro
- 0
Estimated cargo loaded and discharged in those 30 days: 0.8 million tonnes.
09-12 4 | 09-13 8 | 09-14 3 | 09-15 6 | 09-16 4 | 09-17 7 | 09-18 5 | 09-19 2 | 09-20 6 | 09-21 4 | 09-22 3 | 09-23 7 | 09-24 4 | 09-25 2 |
Sources: Kpler; UN Global Platform; IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org). IMF estimates, updated weekly; the latest days are revised. portwatch.imf.org. Counts cover container ships, tankers, dry bulk, general cargo and ro-ro vessels (30-day totals above).
Penang (Georgetown): global benchmarks
How Penang (Georgetown) compares with the world's ports, from published statistics. These are the publishers' figures, not Voydar's own measurements.
- Container Port Performance Index 2023
- #299 of 405
- World Bank ranking of container ports by vessel time in port (lower rank = faster turnaround). Port identified from the CPPI port name "PENANG" (80% confidence).
- Source: World Bank, The Container Port Performance Index 2023 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Retrieved Sep 24, 2026.
Piracy and anti-shipping incidents nearby
12 incidents within 100 km of the port in NGA's Anti-Shipping Activity Messages (ASAM) archive since Aug 27, 2000. NGA stopped updating the archive in 2024. The most recent:
- Pirate AssaultAug 2, 2014Tanker26 km away
MALAYSIA: On 2 August, six robbers armed with guns in a skiff attempted to board an underway product tanker near position 05-24N 100-05E, 6 nm west of Penang Island. Duty crew noticed the robbers and informed the duty officer who raised the alarm and switched on the deck lights. All crew was mustered and fire hoses were charged. Seeing the crew's alertness the robbers aborted the attempted boarding. Port Authorities and MMEA informed.
- Pirate AssaultFeb 28, 2005Tugboat4 km away
STRAIT OF MALACCA: Tug (HIGHLINE 26) was attacked 28 Feb at 2100 local time approximately 50 nm west of Penang, Malaysia. An Indonesian fishing boat came alongside. Four men jumped onto the tugboat and attacked the crew. The bandits fired several shots, striking one of the crewmen in the leg. The captain and chief officer were taken hostage. The four men also took the tugboat documents (probably to show proof they have the two crewmen when they make ransom demands), destroyed probable comms gear
- Pirate AssaultJun 14, 2004Fishing Vessel73 km away
MALAYSIA: An unidentified Malaysian fishing boat was boarded 14 Jun at 0130 local time while about 10 nm off Kuala Sepetang (Port Weld or Kampung Sepetang) fishing village. About 10 persons armed with automatic Weapons abducted 3 crew. The remaining 3 crew lodged a report with local police (IMB).
- Suspicious ApproachMay 29, 2004Merchant Vessel40 km away
MALACCA STRAIT: Unidentified LPG tanker reports suspicious approach 29 May at 2120 local time, while underway in position 05-05.1N 100-10.2E. Three very fast grey speedboats positioned themselves with one ahead and one on either flank. Crew sounded whistle and directed searchlights at the boats which withdrew after 40 minutes. Incident is more suggestive of encounter with military or para military forces than with pirates (IMB, ONI).
- Pirate AssaultMay 19, 2004Fishing Vessel22 km away
MALAYSIA-THAILAND: Four Thai fishermen were kidnapped for ransom 19 May at 2100 local time when their boat was boarded 39 nm off Gertak Sanggul, Balik Pulau, Penanang (Pinang) Island, by 6 persons armed with sub machine guns. One crew member was released with ransom demand for the remaining crew. The kidnappers are said to be Indonesians. The boats owner and registry are Malaysian (IMB, INFO).
- Pirate AssaultApr 25, 2004Merchant Vessel27 km away
MALAYSIA: Unidentified fishing boat was boarded 25 Apr at midnight at Pulau Kendi off Pulau Pangkor. Seven persons armed with M16s boarded form a speedboat. They took two crew hostage but subsequently released one after robbing him (IMB).
Source: NGA Anti-Shipping Activity Messages. This reproduction, partial or complete, of any National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) or Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) product, information or data is not approved, authorized or endorsed by the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the Director, NGA or any other element of the US Government. The US Government and NGA accept no liability for the accuracy or quality of this reproduction or the use of any NGA, NIMA or DMA products, information or data. Licence: US Government work — "NGA claims no copyright or other intellectual property right".
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