The Port comprises seven facilities, with six of them on mainland Seberang Perai, including the North Butterworth Container Terminal, Butterworth Deep Water Wharves and the Prai Bulk Cargo Terminal. Even though Penang's maritime trade volume has diminished over the recent decades due to the loss of George Town's free port status and the development of Port Klang, the Port still plays an important role for northern Malaysia, as it links Penang with more than 200 ports worldwide. , the Port of Penang handled over 1.44 million TEUs of cargo, making it the third busiest seaport in Malaysia by trade volume. The Port's strategic location enabled it to service not just northern Peninsular Malaysia, but also southern Thailand. The Port of Penang is well-connected via rail and expressways. It is linked via the Malayan Railway's West Coast Line and the North–South Expressway to the rest of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand. In addition, it is located close to the Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge, allowing for the transport of goods to and from the factories in Bayan Lepas. Meanwhile, the only Port facility on Penang Island, Swettenham Pier in George Town, now accommodates cruise ships, making it one of the main entry points into the state. This makes cruise tourism a major component of tourist arrivals into Penang, other than airport arrivals. , Swettenham Pier recorded 1.35 million tourist arrivals, thereby surpassing Port Klang as the busiest port-of-call in Malaysia for cruise shipping. The pier has also attracted some of the world's biggest cruise liners, such as the RMS Queen Mary 2. A handful of cruise ships call Swettenham Pier as their homeport, bringing tourists into and out of George Town towards regional destinations like Phuket and Singapore. Occasionally, Swettenham Pier hosts warships as well, including those from Singapore, Thailand and the United States. The cross-strait Rapid Ferry service provides a direct connection between George Town and Butterworth, and was the only link between Penang Island and the mainland until the completion of the Penang Bridge in 1985. At the time of writing, six ferries sail across the Penang Strait between George Town and Butterworth daily.  , the construction of Penang Sentral, a major transport hub in Butterworth along the lines of KL Sentral, is ongoing. Located adjacent to both the Butterworth railway station and Sultan Abdul Halim Ferry Terminal, it is intended to house the termini for ferry, bus (both public transit and interstate express buses) and train services within Penang under one roof, and was mooted as Penang's answer to the monolithic Kuala Lumpur Sentral.