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Penang is justly famed among cruisers for its medical services, superb food and provisions, developed retail sector, and its multicultural and friendly population. Services catering specifically to cruisers are sparse, but many services are available in the well developed industrial and commercial environment for those who seek them.
On 7 July 2008, George Town, Penang, was, together with Malacca, formally inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is officially recognized as having a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.
Position 05° 25'N, 100° 21'E (off George Town)
For full details on clearance into and out of Malaysia see Malaysia Formalities.
If you are already cleared into Malaysia, there is no longer a requirement to check in here.
This is reported to be a good place to check out of Malaysia.
As of September 1, 2016, Jabatan Laut relocated to the Jabatan Laut Wilayah Utara building on Jalan Akuarium, Gelugor, Penang.
If you are coming or going internationally (e.g. direct to or from Singapore, Thailand or Indonesia), you also need to check in or out with Immigration. The relevant office operates 24 hours a day and is in the old Immigration Building at the corner of Lebuh Pantai and Lebuh Light; enter the building by the door marked ‘Bahagian Perkapalan’ [Shipping Division]. For visa extensions, visit the new Immigration Building across the channel, in Seberang Prai.
Remember, in Malaysia, you must carry your passport at all times. A photocopy does not satisfy the legal requirements.
You can apply for an Indonesian visa at the Indonesian Embassy in Penang. The procedure is straightforward and takes 24 hrs approx.
Cruisers have also reported successfully applying for an Indian Visa (destination Andamans) at the Penang Indian Visa Centre.
Last updated October 2017.
With the closure of the Tanjong City Marina, obtaining a marina berth or safe anchorage in Penang can be difficult. In order not to miss all that Penang has to offer, many cruisers choose to leave their boat in Langkawi and visit Penang by ferry - staying in one of the many cheap but decent hotels in Georgetown.
Docking Options
If arriving from the south, you can travel the Western Channel (between Pulau Pinang and Pulau Jerjak) to the Seagate Anchorage or the Marina Batu Uban. Or use the Main Channel (under the Penang Bridge), to reach the Junk Anchorage.
Arriving from the north, the Junk Anchorage and E-Gate Anchorage are handy. Also the new Straits Quay Marina located on the NE end of Penang Island is now an option. Or you could continue along the Main Channel, under the bridge, and round Pulau Jerjak to the Western Channel and Seagate Anchorage or Marina Batu Uban.
The oldTanjong City Marina in the heart of World Heritage Listed Georgetown has now closed due to heavy silting and poor repair. It may be still possible to leave your dinghy there if you anchor nearby in the Junk Anchorage, however the docks are pretty much all broken up now.
Anchorages
The Junk Anchorage, (just south of the position of the old Tanjong City Marina) lies off the clan jetties (the New, Yeoh, Lee, Tan, Chew and Lim jetties) about 200 metres south of the car ferry terminal. Diesel fuel is usually available from a fuel barge nearby.
The Junk Anchorage is exposed to weather from the north and east and there is plenty of debris fouling the bottom. Be sure to double check that your anchor is set and holding properly. It is safer here during Neap tides. At Spring tides the current can run at 3 - 4 knots and an adverse afternoon breeze of up to 20 knots can create a nasty "wind against tide" situation. It's necessary to check the tides when leaving your dinghy at the Chew Jetty.
The E-Gate anchorage lies at about 05º 22'N 100º19'E, after proceeding south down the Western Channel from the Junk Anchorage. Anchor offshore (at 05°27’35”N 100°18’55”E, good holding in 6m, is recommended) opposite either the E-Gate building (prominent cupola) or the blue-roofed building housing the Jabatan Laut headquarters for the northern region of peninsula Malaysia. It is an easy dinghy ride to the Straits Quay Marina. Be alert to submarine cables and the associated no-anchoring area. The old marine police jetty here no longer exists as it's totally taken over by the extensive land reclamation and building works. Therefore there is no longer a refueling option here. Sam’s Grocery is handy in the marina complex and there is a Tesco hypamarket about a kilometre up the road to the north. Also there are associated shops and food court handy to this anchorage. However the marina is the only possible landing but beware of the 2kn current that runs between the island and the mainland - timing is everything! Tide floods from N to S. so the tidal stream is south flowing.
The Seagate Anchorage is in the Western Channel at about 05º19'N 100º18’.5E. Uncle Quah (Mr Quah Thye Hock, tel. 012 427 3992) supplies water sports services and rents moorings for a couple of ringgit a day. He is a good source of information and assistance. The sandy beach just south of the Seagate Anchorage has been used by cruisers for careening.
Some yachts have successfully anchored further south off Jerejak and managed to find shore access.
Marinas
Marina Batu Uban, at about 05º21'.3N 100º18'.9E in the Western Channel, is a small (35 berths for vessels up to 12 metres) and unpretentious public marina operated by the Jabatan Laut (Marine Dept.). It tends to have very few available berths. The marina has no breakwater. Wind wave and wake from passing motor vessels have burst fenders on more than one occasion. Skippers are advised to make sure their mast is not aligned with their neighbour’s. This marina is not convenient for sightseeing and shopping being a 15 minute bike ride to Queensbay Shopping Mall (and buses). Anchoring off this marina in order to use it for dinghy access incurs a charge.
NOTE: The bridge in this area near the marina is NOT passable for yachts. It has an air height of approximately 6 metres at high tide.
Straits Quay Marina (photo courtesy of SY Totem) is located on the North East end of Penang Island. It's reported to have good facilities and be well managed. Plus, there is a big shopping mall and Tesco supermarket nearby. It has a very limited number of available berths for visitors so advance booking is essential. This marina does not have access to fuel, although this is available from barges offshore. Entry to the marina is a little tricky at low tide since the silt outside the marina moves around a fair bit: call ahead to get info on the latest recommended track in. Maintenance dredging of the approach channel and marina basin to -3m CD was completed in April 2013 so access for yachts with up to 3m draft is possible, although entering near HW is still advisable.
Last updated October 2017.
Yeow Cheong Foundry in Penang has moved to 296, Pengkalan Weld, Macallum Street, but their phone number is the same. Wholly recommend them.
The manager of Ocean Success can be a cantankerous old woman. “You don’t have to be here to watch us repack your life raft. Go and come back. What, you don’t trust us?” With that, there was do doubt we would be there to watch each step of the inspection process, especially since she refused to give us a written statement of the charges for the packing and items to be replaced. She would not photocopy her hand written information for us nor allow us to photograph the information. For whatever reasons, miscommunications or otherwise, it seems we would have been charged for items in the repacking process that in the end did not get done, like replacing the wire triggering lanyard and the internal visual inspection of the gas inflation bottle. Because of this, our expected bill was reduced to a total of $175.00 including having one of their employees pick us and the raft up from our marina and taking us to the Ocean Success shop. That one way trip cost us $20. We took an Uber taxi for the return trip costing us $5.
Only after we were home with our inspected raft did I realize the inspector did not inflate the rafts floor for inspection. I completely overlooked what should have been the inspectors standard routine.
Of the 4 state licensed life raft inspection stations I have visited in Malaysia, none would qualify for licensing in the United States, New Zealand or Australia and quite possibly many other countries. Nor would these stations qualify for being a service center for many known brands of rafts used on pleasure boats.
First, the inspection room is not a sealed room with a climate controlled environment. Garage size doors open to the outside allowing ambient tropical temperatures and humidity to contaminate the rubber of the life raft. The inspection area should be a comfortable temperature with low humidity air, sealed from the outside environment.
The second deviation is the air used to inflate the raft for air holding ability is not filtered to remove contaminants and humidity. It should be very clean and dry, like what goes into a SCUBA tank. After deflating, the unfiltered air can adversely affect the integrity of the rubber over time.
Third, the inspection surface is the painted concrete floor which everyone walks on with their shoes. Sand and dirt from the floor will cling to the life raft upon repacking causing abrasion. There was no attention to vacuuming the floor prior to or during the inspection of our raft.
On the positive side, Ocean Success allows the customer to choose what items they want to go back into their raft, unlike in Australia and New Zealand and America. In those countries, the mandatory replacement of loose items and their exorbitant cost structure, can make the purchase of a new raft, rather then repacking, an attractive alternative.
So in the end, like many boat projects, you can’t just blindly turn the project over to a contractor and hope for the best. You have to be an active project manager and keep a watchful eye on the process.
Re: Clearance in the Penang, Malaysia profile
23 September, 2016
As of September 1, 2016, Jabatan Laut (Harbor Master/Port Captain) relocated to the Jabatan Laut Wilayah Utara building on Jalan Akuarium, Gelugor, Penang. The clearance office is located directly to the left, behind the sliding glass doors, as you enter the front door. The building is located approximately 1 mile south of the Gelugor Tesco Hypermarket and although the building backs onto Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu Highway, you can only reach it from back roads. Google for directions.
Nancy Paterson
sv Amulet
Have just had our 2 liferafts serviced by Ocean Success in Penang. Overall they were very professional and did a good job with a rapid turn around and reasonable rates by international standards. I found them very pleasant to work with and was able to specify exactly what equipment I wanted packing into the raft. Replacement items to SOLAS specs (such as flares, food rations and water)standards were readily available at reasonable rates.
Contact Nadya at Ocean Success on _+60331662503
Paul Johnson
SY Asia