Posted on 02/24/2006 7:16:10 PM PST by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (AP) - An Arab company's potential takeover of some marine terminals at six major ports on the East Coast has raised questions about foreign operations at seaport facilities.
Such arrangements have been commonplace at West Coast ports for years.
Most of the cargo that enters the country comes through huge ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington.
Each has marine terminals operated by foreign shipping lines - many from Europe and Asia.
"On the West Coast, almost all the ports have their terminals operated by foreign companies," said Ivan Eland, senior fellow at The Independent Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization based in Oakland.
About half of the port terminals on the East Coast are managed by companies based overseas, he added.
A political firestorm erupted this week after it was learned the Bush administration approved a deal by United Arab Emirates-based Dubai Ports World to acquire London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.
Many lawmakers voiced concern over whether the transaction could lead to possible security risks at docks where Dubai Ports would operate terminals.
At the time, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., praised West Coast ports for being run by the government and said all U.S. ports should follow the same model.
Feinstein said she was familiar with port operations because of her nine years as mayor of San Francisco.
"On the West Coast, most of the ports that I know of are all governmentally operated, and I actually believe that's the way it should be," she said. "I don't know how it got started on the East Coast that private entities operate ports."
Nearly all ports around the country are owned by governments, which lease terminals to private companies that must adhere to security and labor rules as part of the deals, said Marc Hershman, a professor at the University of Washington School of Marine Affairs.
"The distinction of West and East Coast, I don't think, holds water, really," he said.
Asked Friday to clarify Feinstein's comments, her spokesman Howard Gantman said, "What I would say is Sen. Feinstein has learned more about the proposal to allow Dubai Ports World to operate six major U.S. ports. She's become increasingly concerned that there was not an adequate review of the national security implications of the deal."
For decades, scores of firms ran cargo operations at U.S. ports. But many have been swallowed up by larger, foreign-owned companies.
"There has been a huge consolidation within the terminal operating world," Hershman said.
The bid by Dubai Ports to operate terminals at U.S. ports is not the first such move to spark opposition.
In the late 1990s, federal lawmakers cited national security concerns while killing a plan by China Ocean Shipping Co. to lease space at the former Long Beach Naval Station. The company now leases a terminal at the Port of Long Beach and operates it jointly with a U.S. firm.
Other foreign firms have encountered fewer roadblocks.
In 1997, Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines acquired U.S.-based American President Lines, a major shipping company with operations along the West Coast, including the ports of Seattle and Los Angeles.
"The only moaning that went on is that we lost another U.S.-flagged carrier to foreign competition," Hershman said.
Let the knee jerking begin! but first let me get out of the way! :)
We need to address the real problem.
What is it that keeps American companies from being competitive, and how do we fix it?
Good post. So. As we see, the true scenario is slowly leaking out. I hope folks will read this carefully and see this false issue brought forth about DPW being owned by a government no longer has any meat. It cannot hold up in the argument. And I for one have stated days ago that one would be far better off having a government responsible for what it's companies do then depend on an individual companies trustworthyness. The UAE has the obligation of assuring no Ali Babba would be amoung any stateswide operations they are responsible to maintain.
American companies on the Great Lakes own docks and do the same thing as tide water ports, except on a smaller scale. I don't accept the argument that we don't or can't operate our own ports. I don't think they should be government owned. Great Lakes facilities aren't.
well, if you had a business and were offered good $ to sell it
why not? looks like what is going on.
These liberal senators are just as ignorant as a box of useless rocks.
Thanks for the post. Diane doesn't seem to know everything she thinks she knows, but people have been saying that for a long time.
So why didn't any American companies even make an offer?
Feinstein wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a bath house and a cargo hold. Did I phrase that correctly?
We knew this a month ago so what is the problem? Governments own and operate ports, companies lease space and operate within the ports. Some of these companies operating within the ports are foreign owned and operated.
From time to time a foreign company operating within the ports will sell it's leases and assets to another company.
The only question is that if the new owner is the UAE does that disqualify them based on that fact.
I would imagine that American Companies were not barred from bidding on this deal. They either didn't offer enough money or didn't bid.
Now if you could get a few of your friends together ....
OBTW: Check your comprehension as to who operates ports and who operates terminals within ports.
Ask them. I really don't know. Most of the Great Lakes docks don't have these Longshoremen because hey are bulk commodity docks. I think they could pick up on ro/ro as there is some of this around the Lake system.
All one had to do was Google "port of XXXX" to get all the information you needed to know about who owns and runs ports. Usually "port authority of XXXX".
They may say Bush is dumb but he knows the difference between a port and a terminal.
My comprehension is that there is every variation of government/private operation so that no one can say "this is the way it should be done." Too many variables and interests. There are public and private docks in every state.
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