Characterization of putative pathogenic Shewanella algae isolated from ballast water

Background and Aim: Shewanella algae is ubiquitous in marine-associated environments and has been increasingly recognized as a significant human pathogen that can cause serious infections mainly associated with exposure to seawater and ingestion of raw seafood. This study aimed to isolate and characterize S. algae from ballast water of ships berthed at Port Klang, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: Ballast water was sampled from nine ships docked at Port Klang, Malaysia. The isolates were identified and characterized based on biochemical and enzymatic properties, 16S rRNA and gyrB sequencing, biofilm formation capability, and antibiotic susceptibility. Results: A total of four S. algae isolates were isolated from four ballast water samples tentatively name Sa-BW1, Sa-BW2, Sa-BW7, and Sa-BW8. All isolates showed positive reaction for cytochrome oxidase, catalase, high tolerance to NaCl (6% and 8%), ability to grow at 42°C, and on Salmonella-Shigella agar. The strains also exhibited β-hemolytic activity on sheep blood and human blood agar, positive reaction for lipase, protease, DNase and gelatinase, strong biofilm adherence capabilities and multiple antibiotic resistances against ampicillin, carbenicillin, cephalothin, colistin, novobiocin, oxacillin, penicillin, rifampicin, and tobramycin which suggested their potential pathogenicity. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the occurrence of putative pathogen S. algae in ballast water of ships docked at Malaysian port.

Antifouling Paints Biocides (Irgarol 1051 and Diuron) in the Selected Ports of Peninsular Malaysia: Occurrence, Seasonal Variation and Ecological Risk Assessment.

Irgarol and Diuron are photosystem II inhibitor in agricultural activities and antifouling paint in shipping sector. A study took place at three major ports surround the Peninsular Malaysia was carried out to construct the distribution of both biocides based on the seasonal and geographical changes. Surface seawater samples were collected during November 2011 to April 2012; pretreated using solid phase extraction technique followed by quantification with GC-MS and LC-MS-MS for Irgarol and Diuron, respectively. Generally, the distribution of Irgarol was lowest during November 2011 and highest during April 2012, which is similar pattern was observed at all ports, whereas the distribution of Diuron was rather vague. The increasing pattern of Irgarol from time to time is probably related to its accumulation in the seawater due to the half-life and consistent utilization. Based on the discriminant analysis, the temporal distribution of Irgarol varied at Klang North Port, Klang South Port and Pasir Gudang Port, whereas Diuron was temporally varied only at Kemaman Port. Furthermore, Irgarol was spatially varied during November 2011, whereas Diuron did not show any significant changes throughout all sampling periods. Ecological risk assessment exhibited high risk for Diuron and Irgarol, but however Irgarol should be of concern due to it relatively higher risk as compared to Diuron. Thus, it is recommended that the current Malaysian guideline and regulation of biocides application should be reevaluated and improve to protect the ecosystem, as well as preventing ecological risk to the aquatic environment.

Prediction of Marine Traffic Density Using Different Time Series Model From AIS data of Port Klang and Straits of Malacca

In the study of ocean engineering, marine traffic is referring to the study of the pattern of the density of ships within the particular boundaries at certain periods. The Port Klang and Straits of Malacca are known for one of the heaviest traffics in Malaysia and the world. The study of traffic within this area is important, because it enables ships to avoid traffic congestion that might happen. Thus, this study is mainly aimed at predicting or forecasting the density of the ships using the route through this waterway by using quantitative methods which are time-series models and the associative models from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) data. The moving averages, weight moving average, and exponential smoothing for the time series model and associative model have used multiple regression. The results show an exponential smoothing alpha 0.8 and give the lowest MAPE as 20.701%, thereby making this method to be the best in forecasting the future traffic density among the method categories.

Suitability Analysis for DGPS Radio Beacon Establishment at Port Klang Malaysia

Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) is a positioning technique which provide safety in navigation to support maritime activities. Marine Department of Malaysia has established Sistem Pelayaran Satelit (SISPELSAT) as safety to aid maritime navigation activities system over the coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The aim of this study is to investigate the location suitability for a new SISPELSAT radio beacon station at Port Klang, Selangor. The work involves three (3) parts; (1) multipath analysis, (2) GPS and Medium Frequency (MF) signal interference investigation, and (3) DGPS correction transmission signal simulation coverage. It has found that, the location has an acceptable multipath value of MP1 and MP2 at 0.4097m and 0.3654m respectively. Meanwhile, no signal interferences on GPS and MF radio signals have found at the proposed location. In addition, the signal simulation shows that the location of Port Klang station are able to provide optimum DGPS coverage for the area of Melaka Straits.

Environmental control of Vibrio spp. abundance and community structure in tropical waters

ABSTRACT We measured Vibrio spp. distribution and community profile in the tropical estuary of Port Klang and coastal water of Port Dickson, Malaysia. Vibrio spp. abundance ranged from 15 to 2395 colony forming units mL−1, and was driven by salinity and chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration. However, the effect of salinity was pronounced only when salinity was <20 ppt. A total of 27 Vibrio spp. were identified, and theVibrio spp. community at Port Dickson was more diverse (H′ = 1.94 ± 0.21). However species composition between Port Dickson and Port Klang were similar. Two frequently occurring Vibrio spp. were V. owensii and V. rotiferianus, which exhibited relatively higher growth rates (ANCOVA: F > 4.338, P < 0.05). Co-culture experiments between fast- and slow-growing Vibrio spp. revealed that fast-growing Vibrio spp. (r-strategists) were overwhelmed by slower-growing Vibrio spp. (K-strategists) when nutrient conditions were set towards oligotrophy. In response to resource availability, the intrinsic growth strategy of each Vibrio spp. determined its occurrence and the development of Vibrio spp. community composition.

Exploring the development of Malaysian seaports as a hub for tourism activities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the prospects of Malaysian seaports as hubs for seaport tourism. This symbiosis nexus between seaports and tourism needs to be explored to provide a luxury economic growth. Combinations of these two segments are expected to explore a new market in Malaysian tourism industry. Design/methodology/approach A thorough case study consists of five major seaports in Malaysia including Penang Port, Port Klang, Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Kuantan Port, Bintulu Port and Kota Kinabalu; these seaports have been selected to reveal their opportunities for the prospect of Malaysian seaport tourism via spatial interaction model. Findings Four main components including cruise activities, support from intra-region and inter-region economic corridors and the seaport regionalisation can be integrated to reveal the capacity of Malaysian seaport to be hub for seaport tourism. Originality/value This paper incorporates tourism sector as one of the streams in the fifth-generation seaports. Seaports and tourism are two economic generators in Malaysia and infusion of these components is expected to enhance the economic prospect, diversify the function of seaports and reduce the over-dependence on conventional tourism activities.

Cycle Time Reduction in Automotive Manufacturing

Today, there are a lot of problems occur in the Automotive Component Manufacturer Company. Amongst them, work not standardized on each process is the most serious one. Standardization work can help reduce the amount of time to complete the task without defects by efficiently guiding the operators. Other related problems include machines fail to clamp semi-finished products to the next station, stopper loose, and rework process which cause the car carpet size to miss the standards. All these common problems increased the cycle time of the car carpet assembly line. So, this study was aimed to investigate how to reduce cycle time of the car carpet assembly line in the Automotive Component Manufacturer Company which located at Port Klang area. Data was collected through interview and observation. To reduce the cycle time of the car carpet assembly line, Kaizen activity and line balancing are implemented. Kaizen is the continuous improvement process. Line balancing is used to manage the workloads among assemblers, to determine number of workstation and to reduce production cost of the company. The derived results show that the cycle time of the car carpet assembly line is reduced from 313 seconds to 131 seconds. This proves that kaizen activities and line balancing do improve the productivity up to 58%. However, to achieve more successful and effective improvement, further work standardization on each process is needed.