Any port in a storm
With all the cry over the Arabs buying control of six US ports, it's worth checking a few facts.
From
UPI:
UAE terminal takeover extends to 21 ports
A United Arab Emirates government-owned company is poised to take over port terminal operations in 21 American ports, far more than the six widely reported.
The Bush administration has approved the takeover of British-owned Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. to DP World, a deal set to go forward March 2 unless Congress intervenes.
P&O is the parent company of P&O Ports North America, which leases terminals for the import and export and loading and unloading and security of cargo in 21 ports, 11 on the East Coast, ranging from Portland, Maine to Miami, Florida, and 10 on the Gulf Coast, from Gulfport, Miss., to Corpus Christi, Texas, according to the company's Web site.
This buy-out has been in the works since last November.
From this
Treasury Department Press Release:
CFIUS and the Protection of the National Security in the Dubai Ports World Bid for Port Operations
All members of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) understand that their top priority is to protect our national security, including homeland security.
On November 29 of last year, two companies publicly announced a proposed transaction: Dubai Ports World (DPW), a state-owned company located in the United Arab Emirates, proposed to acquire The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), a British firm that operates in a number of U.S. ports and other ports around the world. The acquisition would include terminal port operations at a number of U.S. ports – not the ports themselves. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), particularly the Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is in charge of port security.
DPW and P&O believed that this proposed transaction could raise national security issues that should appropriately be reviewed by the U.S. Government. The companies contacted CFIUS on October 17 and voluntarily told the Committee of their intention to file a notification with CFIUS for a national security review. They also held a complete briefing for DHS and other CFIUS members with security, defense, or law enforcement responsibilities on October 31.
Each of the CFIUS 12 members (departments and agencies) conducts its own internal analysis. In this case, the Departments of Transportation and Energy were also brought in to the CFIUS review to widen the scope and to add the expertise of those agencies reviewing the transaction.
On November 2, well before DP World and P&O filed with Treasury, CFIUS requested an intelligence assessment of the foreign acquirer. A little more than 30 days later -- still well before the companies formally filed with CFIUS or the review began -- the intelligence community provided CFIUS with a threat assessment regarding whether the foreign acquirer -- DPW – has the intention or capability to threaten U.S. national security.
And finally, foreign management of US ports is nothing new.
From
The SF Gate:
Foreign involvement is nothing new
Reports that the government of Dubai is on the verge of taking over six U.S. seaports have been greatly exaggerated.
Even so, Congress is right in demanding more details about a deal that would put a company backed by the government of Dubai, one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, in charge of some operations at major U.S. ports.
And:
Most terminal operators at U.S. ports are foreign companies and some are owned in part by foreign governments.
APL, which manages terminals in Oakland, Los Angeles, Seattle and Alaska, is owned by the NOL Group, which is majority owned by the Singapore government.
The Chinese government owns part of a company that operates a terminal at the Port of Long Beach.
That company, Cosco Container Lines, a division of China Cosco, caused a stir similar to the current one back in 1998.
Cosco ships had been calling on the Port of Long Beach for many years, using a public terminal. In the late 1990s, it wanted to build its own terminal at the former Long Beach Naval Station, says Howard Finkel, a senior vice president with Cosco.
The deal raised national-security concerns and Congress passed a bill that effectively scuttled it.
A few years later, other tenants at the port vacated space and Cosco was able to build its own terminal, says Art Wong, public information office for the Port of Long Beach.
Posted by DaveH at February 25, 2006 4:43 PM