Thursday - February 23, 2006

Counterpoint: The Ports Deal

What is the Big Deal About the Ports?
By Jaguar

The media is screaming, the bloggers are screaming, the congresscritters are screaming. What the heck are they all freaking out about? Well, from what I have seen, the media is claiming that 6 US ports will be taken over and run by a company called DP World, which is owned by the UAE government, or actually, by a holding company that is owned by the UAE.

Congresscritters are running around and yelling about outsourcing our port security. The media is screaming the same thing. Now the bloggers are doing it as well. Our security will be outsourced, our security will be compromised, the UAE hasn’t been cooperative in the war on terror, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

You’d think that we were selling them the ports and everything in them. Like it was going to be New UAE in the US, or some such garbage. What exactly does it all mean? And what is actually going on here?

First off, let’s get this straight; the Port Authorities of each city own the ports. The security is run by the Port Authority, Homeland security and the coast guard.

This will not change, in any way shape or form.

What does that mean? The same security that is in place now, will be in place when DP World manages the terminals in the ports. As a matter of fact, the security will actually be better at the 6 ports. Why? Because homeland security asked DP World to help the ports invest in better security equipment as part of the approval process.

The UAE has been investing in R&D of the technology side of port security for a while. The UAE was the first country to sign on with Homeland security so that ALL containers leaving their ports for the US are inspected before they leave for the US. So, DP World is in an excellent position to be involved in the security upgrades for the ports. But, again, they have no responsibility nor authority in the way security is run at those ports.

What does DP world do? They manage the terminals in the port, NOT the port itself. There is HUGE difference here, and it needs to be made CLEAR. Let’s first look at the company that was originally managing the day-to-day port operations, Peninsular and Oriental Steam Operations, or P&O for short.  They have been managing the day-to-day operations of the 6 ports, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans for the last 10 years or so.

From this website.

P&O Ports is the P&O Group Company responsible for port development and investment, terminal operating and stevedoring activities. Originating with the creation of an Australia-wide stevedoring and terminal operating entity, its first international activity was the 1986 joint venture privatization and management of the Port Kelang container terminal in Malaysia. This project was one of the first privatizations of public port assets undertaken worldwide. Its great success resulted in it becoming an international model for privatization of public facilities.

P&O Ports’ success and experience in privatization was also the foundation for further international investment by P&O, resulting in it being a world leader in port development and operation today. P&O Ports is an international company managing 21 container terminals and has operations in over 85 ports in 19 countries around the world.

DP World decided that they would be interested in buying the full worldwide operations of P&O, and got into a bidding war with a number of companies last August.  Last November, the Committee of Foreign investment OK’d the deal after going over the usual 30 day review period for such dealings.

They found no concerns that would be harmful to the security of the ports or the United States. Why, you may ask? Because the companies that manage the port operations, do not manage the security at the ports, and never have. DP World has also cooperated with the office of Homeland security in other international ports that they manage in order to secure and ensure the safety of containers being shipped to the United States.

OK, so what have we got so far?

First, they will not be doing any security for the ports that they will be managing. None. All security is in the hands of the local Port Authority, Homeland Security, and the Coast Guard.

The Port Authority, who owns the ports (and is usually a government agency, and elected by the citizens of that city) contract out the daily terminal operations of the port, to companies that do that type of management. P&O was an excellent company to have done that, and now DP World has purchased ALL of P&O’s worldwide assets and management divisions, which happens to include the 6 US ports named above.

Second, DP World is indeed owned by the UAE. The UAE has been one of our greatest allies in the Middle East, and around the world, on our continuing war on terror. Of all the Middle Eastern countries they are the smallest security risk and the most trustworthy as evidenced by their cooperation with our continued war on terrorism and signing onto our Homeland Security arrangements at their own ports.

Third, this buyout was approved by the Foreign investment Committee after much research and of course discussions with the company itself. The media has hyped it to a point where it has taken on a life of it’s own, and people are freaking out over pretty much nothing.

What’s the actual bottom line here?

DP World will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the terminals in the 6 ports of those cities, just as P&O was. The American longshoreman will still load and unload all the ships. The American managers will still be in charge of the day-to-day operations, and security will be handled by the same people that have always handled it. (The Port Authority of each city, Homeland Security, and the Coast Guard.)

What will be different? The payee on the paychecks to those American Longshoreman and those American managers will say DP World instead of P&O.

The profits from those operations will be going to the UAE, instead of the UK.

The ports will be getting some much needed modernization of their security equipment.

That’s it, that’s the bottom line…

So what’s the fuss? What has caused this entire furor over a change in management?

Well, let’s take a peek at a couple of things shall we?

Let’s start with a timeline.

August 2005: DP World gets into a bidding war for the purchase of P&O. A final buyout price of about 6.8 billion dollars is agreed upon as of January 26th 2006.

November 2005: The committee on foreign investment gives the nod to the buyout and for DP world to take over the daily operations at the 6 US ports.

January 2006: Dave Sanborn is nominated to serve as the maritime administrator. He has been an executive of DP world since 2005.

February 15th 2006: Continental Stevedoring and Terminals Inc., a partner with P&O in the US, filed a suit to block the purchase. Miami’s mayor also sent a letter of protest to President Bush.

And today, all the media outlets are having conniption fits and the bloggers are screaming “off with Bush’s head” over this one. OK, so what does this little timeline tell us? This was a done deal 3 months ago, back in November. Media reaction—YAWNER, nonstory.

January, Dave Sanborn is nominated. Media reaction—YAWNER, nonstory. Today? Conniption fit city. What happened? Hmm, Continental filed a suit to block the sale and Miami’s mayor wrote a letter of protest to the president. Hmm, sounds particularly suspicious to me, and another case of the media playing fast and loose with the facts in order to create a fracas and discredit the Bush administration.

And everyone has fallen for it hook, line and sinker. This thing has been done for over 3 months, the nomination was done last month, and now the media is just reporting it, only after a letter of protest from a mayor and a company filed suit?

BTW, 99% of the shareholders agreed to the sale of P&O to DP World. Another case of the crying liberals trying to get a judge to overturn something after the people voted for it. Sorry, I digress.

Tomorrow, they will be saying that Dave Sanborn getting the Maritime administrator position was some sort of payback to DP World for cooperating with Homeland Security. Just watch, it’s going to happen. Here is Dave Sanborns Resume’, just in case you were wondering how he might qualify for this position.

Mr. Sanborn, a graduate of The United States Merchant Maritime Academy, joined DP World in 2005. He previously held senior roles with shipping lines CMA-CGM (Americas), APL Ltd and Sea-Land and has been based, besides the US, in Brazil, Europe, Hong Kong and Dubai during his career.  He has also served in the US Naval Reserve.

Looks pretty darned qualified to me. The media has given this story the legs it needs by playing fast and loose with the facts. They will do the same here. Just watch them. The media has manipulated this thing from the get go, and everyone is falling right in step to their tune. I find it sad, disturbing and very frustrating.

Bin Laden can’t wait to tell everyone how the US hates and distrusts Arabs and that the US is indeed the enemy. The overreaction and lies about this sale and the management of these ports will tell the world exactly that.

The media has played everyone for fools by not telling the WHOLE story or, for that matter, the real story.

For some reason the media has decided that a mayoral letter of protest and a suit to block the sale in US courts is enough to run with the story. (But, they haven’t said a thing about that part, have they?)

Anyone want to tell me why that is?

Onwards…

What story finally just died? Cheney, shooting some poor Republican lawyer, while on a hunting trip. Now the 78 year old lawyer is out of the hospital and all is forgiven. Whoops, the story had legs, and then had them cut out from under them.

Now, along comes this story. The media, trying it again.

The timing looks really strange to me. If any of you understand how the media manipulates the American people, it should look mighty strange to you as well. This whole story is a nonstory. It is nothing but a lot of caterwauling and BS from the usual suspects and the usual media outlets. President Bush is doing the right thing.

This is an executive branch responsibility. The deal is done. The arrangements have been made. Congress sticking it’s fingers into this pie will do nothing more then play into the prejudices that Bin Laden is trying so hard to convince other Arabs that we have.

This deal should be allowed to go through. It will NOT endanger our national security in any way shape or form. It will help with our war on terror. Besides the fact, DP World does an excellent job of running port terminals, as their assets and continued contracts on the worldwide market should prove to you.

Sources:
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007999
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/jan-june06/ports_2-21.html
http://www.nationalreview.com/ijaz/ijaz200602221412.asp
http://www.dpiterminals.com/fullnews.asp?NewsID=39
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/22/D8FUHG4G0.html
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18245410%5E1702,00.html

Posted by Jaguar     on 02/23/2006 at 10:44 AM   
Filed Under: • Editorials •  
• Comments (31) • Trackbacks(1)  Permalink •  

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