Development of Shipping Activities At The Port Swettenham, 1901-1919

This article aims to discuss the development of shipping activities at Port Swettenham from 1901 to 1919. Port Swettenham was developed with the aim of making this port the main port not only for Selangor, but also for the Federated Malay States (FMS). Accordance with that, the objective of this study is to analyse the development of shipping activities at Port Swettenham which is a benchmark for the needs of this port to be developed. This study uses a qualitative methodology based on archival and library research with reference to Reports on the Marine Department of the State of Selangor as the main source alongside the Selangor Administration Report and Reports for the Klang Districts. The results of the study found that the development of Port Swettenham is important to Selangor and FMS as the main port and a link for the export of tin and rubber which became the main commodity around the 20th century, especially when the First World War broke out. Although the development of Port Swettenham was not supported by most shipping companies, but Port Swettenham has grown rapidly and not only handled coastal merchant ships and small-sized ships, but also received the arrival of large-sized ocean-going merchant ships starting in 1904. Therefore, the development of shipping activities at Port Swettenham has shown that this port really needs to be developed to accommodate the development of trade in the FMS and reduce dependence on the ports of the Straits Settlements (SS).