The issue is not how many PORTS are involved, it is how many TERMINALS. Every major port has many terminals. So the discussion of the UAE taking control of our ports is an intentional obfuscation.
P&O Ports North America's home page is:
http://portal.pohub.com/portal/page?_pageid=169,1,169_82863&_dad=pogprtl&_schema=POGPRTL
P&O Groups global Ports subsidiary page is:
http://portal.pohub.com/portal/page?_pageid=71,207406&_dad=pogprtl&_schema=POGPRTL
On the latter page, you can follow links to North American container totals.
The article leading off this thread is rather fact free, to say the least.
P&O is involved in port operations throught the Gulf of Mexico along Texas and the northern Atlantic states. I believe they mentioned the 6 major ports involved.
http://portal.pohub.com/portal/page?_pageid=36,1,36_31159:36_34057&_dad=pogprtl&_schema=POGPRTL
Click on North America for info about each port and number of berths
If you will read the Port of Houston statement that Sally's Concerns posted, you'll see why the variance among different articles on the number of ports incolved, 6 or 21.
Luckily, that was the very first document I found when I went to reference this last week, because I have worked with the Port of Houston often in the past.
The SIX ports being bandied about - New York, New Jersey, Philly, Baltimore, Miami and NOLA - are talked about the most because ... P&O LEASES terminals at these ports. When they LEASE a terminal, they manage their own interests and activities WITHIN that ONE leased terminal, just like any other lessee does.
That means they handle paperwork, have a small staff, do management duties, for things such as a storage yard they might have or a crane that they might build themselves to ENHANCE their LEASEHOLD, or a railyard connection that might be at that terminal, or other intermodal transportation.
If you look at the P&O list, you'll see that they have leases currently on TWO container terminals, at Port Newark and Port Jersey City, within the authority of the Port of New York and Port of New Jersey, a two-state partnership. One is joint venture, partnered with Maersk on a 30-year lease. Most of this RoRo cargo, imported cars.
On those two leases, P&O, and soon DPW/America, is the OPERATOR of those individual TERMINALS.
Separately, but also in the NY port area, the City of NYC contracts with P&O to provide management and stevedoring services for the New York Cruise Terminal, under a 20-year LEASE. Among their duties, they host Fleet Week for the US Navy.
In Philadelphia/Camden, P&O has a joint venture with the Delaware River Stevedores for the Tioga Marine Terminal. DRS operates the terminal, which mainly deals in Chilean fruit. DRS has the 10-year lease - P&O, as noted, is just the partner with the Americans who are in charge.
Also in Philly, the Philadelphia Cruise Terminal (formerly the Navy Yard) is served by the DRS partnership with baggage handling and storing services. DRS also contracts its services at the Del Monte Fruit Terminal, providing labor and equipment, and at terminals in the Port of Wilmington.
The largest P&O operations in the US are at the Port of Baltimore, where they operate two terminals on six-year leases. These are the Seagirt Marine Terminal and the Dundalk Marine Terminal. They provide terminal management and stevedoring services, as well as maintenance and repair of containers and chassis.
Additionally, P&O contracts directly with shipping lines for various cargo handling services in the harbor at Baltimore.
In Miami, P&O is half owner of the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Company, which operates the only multi-user container facility at the port. P&O also has contracts for stevedoring and other services at other terminals within the port.
P&O has been an integral part of the Port of New Orleans for decades, providing comprehensive terminal operating and stevedoring services, including a full complement of top-end handling equipment and expansive storage warehousing facilities. They operate leases at the Nashville Avenue B and C Container Terminals, as well as the Napoleon Avenue Container terminal.
All right. The scorecard tally from those 6 ports is:
.2 total terminals in NYC/NJ leased - half each of two, plus all of another
.1 total terminal in Philly - half each of two
.2 total terminals in Baltimore - all of each
.1/2 (0.5) a terminal in Miami
.3 total terminals in New Orleans
The grand total is management of 8.5 TERMINALS in those 6 ports. The earlier article stated that there are 300 terminals in those 6 ports alone. Thus, we're talking about 8.5 terminals out of 300.
Those are ALL the "port management/terminal management" activities in which P&O and soon DPW/America will be involved.
In the other 15 ports listed on the P&O site, which evidently add up to the "21 ports" figure some have quoted, P&O - DPW/America, if you will, is just another contractor of various handling services in selected terminals at those ports.
In Houston, for example, they operate these services in just two terminals - Barbours Cut and just 4 wharves at the City Docks Turnin Basin Terminal. They don't lease any TERMINALS and therefore, do not provide any management services for any TERMINALS.
While I don't have a total number for how many terminals there are in the ports of Houston (150, I know that one), Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Port Arthur, Freeport, Galveston, TX; Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, LA; Gulfport, MS; Norfolk, VA, and environs; Wilmington, DE; Davisville, RI; Boston, MA; and Portland, ME, I can be assured it is more than the 300 in the original six ports detailed.
They have NO leases and NO port management contracts for ANY of those TERMINALS in those ports.
Now do you see the difference between the main 6 "ports" and the total 21 "ports"?