When Frank Broeze died in April 2001 his last manuscript was almost ready for publication. His wife, Ulli, asked me to read and proof the manuscript, and so I entered upon my last collaboration with Frank. As always Frank opened up new horizons for me and provided an opportunity to explore a new, exciting and revolutionary chapter of maritime history. The International Maritime Economic History Association, in its series Research in Maritime History, generously offered to publish a work that in its vision and analysis stands as a fitting tribute to a great scholar and champion of maritime studies.

Shortly before Frank Broeze died we had a discussion about the ongoing impact of containerisation upon the world community. Frank was convinced that the next great area of impact would be the international political arena and briefly mentioned the tension between Malaysia and Singapore that in part focussed on the growth of rival container ports.

In early 2002 the rivalry between the two states caught the attention of the local media. In March, The Straits Times noted that Malaysia was planning to develop Senai Airport as a major regional cargo uplift point to be linked by rail and highway to two Malaysian container ports facing Singapore island: Tanjung Pelepas and Pasir Gudang. In April 2002, the Singapore Sunday Times had a banner headline reading “Johor Gears Up for Port Battle” in which it outlined the development of a political and economic struggle between Malaysia and Singapore for supremacy in the container hub stakes. Later that month, the Far Eastern Economic Review had a lengthy article examining the growing political row between the two states, ostensibly based upon Malaysian claims that Singaporean land reclamation was aimed at closing the shipping channels to its potential Malaysian rivals.

The dispute caught my attention because it involved so many of the factors and actors that Frank Broeze covered in this book.