SSA of Seattle planned to work with DP World
By Alwyn Scott
Seattle Times business reporter
SSA Marine, by far the largest U.S.-based port operator, appears to be in prime position to take a role in running the U.S. assets of Dubai Ports World (DP World), the company at the center of the port-security controversy.
Seattle-based SSA had been planning to accept DP World as its joint-venture partner at ports in Philadelphia, Wilmington, Del., and Camden, N.J.
SSA was a partner in those ports with London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation (P&O). DP World purchased P&O in a $6.8 billion deal that closed this week.
On Thursday, DP World said it would transfer P&O's U.S. assets "to a U.S. entity" either by selling them to another company or setting up a corporate structure without management links to its government-controlled parent in Dubai.
Bob Watters, vice president at SSA, declined to comment on whether the company was interested in acquiring DP World's half of the joint venture, or its assets at other U.S. ports that would have been acquired by DP World. Those include Baltimore; Newark, N.J.; Miami; and New Orleans, all ports where SSA does not have operations.
SSA manages one of the largest terminals at the Port of Seattle.
Through the P&O purchase, DP World would have acquired half of Delaware River Stevedores, the joint venture with SSA. The venture operates port terminals at Philadelphia and Camden; in Wilmington its role is limited to stevedoring, or loading and unloading ships.
SSA has 150 port operations in at least nine countries, Watters said. In 2003 after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, it won a U.S. government contract to operate the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr to handle aid and reconstruction cargo.
The company leases and operates seven container terminals in the United States. The next-largest U.S. competitor is Maher Terminals, which leases and operates the largest amount of terminal space at the ports of New York and New Jersey. Other large companies leasing U.S. terminals are foreign-owned, Watters said. And other big U.S. companies only operate terminals, but don't lease the land.
Watters said SSA saw no security issues in having DP World as its partner at the three East Coast ports.
In particular read below
Foreign involvement is nothing new - Kathleen Pender
Stevedoring Services of America is mostly a Democrat Party< donor.
Patty Murray's husband is big deal in the company.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1592783/posts?page=83#83
I would only ask of those who so vehemently opposed the port deal. How does it feel to have the Democrats party stick it so far up your A$$. How does it feel to help fund the Democrat party who used your fear and bigotry to misinform others. Does it feel good? I hope so. Congratulations
It's bye-bye Dubai deal - No showdown as firm backs outBY KENNETH R. BAZINET, JAMES GORDON MEEK and MICHAEL McAULIFF
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAUThe deal may also have other fallout. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) said she was still intent on banning foreign governments from running U.S. ports, though relationships with countries like UAE are "oftentimes in America's best interest."
Some critics of the furor have said the death of DP World's deal could lead Dubai to be less helpful in the war on terror. Clinton conceded, "There are legitimate concerns, I'm not going to deny that."
Asked if her proposed policy could backfire, she shrugged.
We've "been told" all sorts of things. Very little of it gets to the nuts and bolts of what is going on, and virtually NONE of it gets to business options going forward. In fact, none of the discussion got to the point of showing the relationship between US-owned interests and P&O.The DP ports deal is not dead. DP owns the port terminal leases. The value of these leases is about $700 million. No American shipping company is big enough or has the assets to buy the terminals.
I get the feeling the US interests are going to be parted out. I stand by what I said above, and just now some of the relevant business relationships are being recited.
Seattle-based SSA had been planning to accept DP World as its joint-venture partner at ports in Philadelphia, Wilmington, Del., and Camden, N.J. ... DP World would have acquired half of Delaware River Stevedores ... SSA, declined to comment on whether the company was interested in acquiring DP World's half of the joint venture
I bet most of the other P&O interests in US operations were similar, half or controlling interest financially, not much hands-on in the US, rather an interest in postive cash flow and good ROI.
DP must sell the leases or lose money or they can sell 51% ownership of the terminal lesses to a American company in a joint venture for about 350 million and still have access to the port terminals.
The SHIPPERS will still have about the same access regardless. The problem is that Congress wnats the financil and operating rules to specify NO, ZERO interests to be held by a UAE owned company, but only in the narrow area of seaport operations. Don't want to toss out Emirates Air Freight, and all that other complicating stuf that comes with consistency.
I'm about as impressed with the handling of this deal as I was with the nomination and promotion of Harriet Miers (bless her heart for being a good sport). Oh well. Nobody is perfect, stuff happens and all that. It's just amazing to see it happen on such a scale as this. Petty errors are usually well buried.
Thanks for the ping, jec.