Dubai Sends Team to Visit U.S. to Ease Ports Concern

Dubai's royal family sent a delegation to the U.S. today to meet officials such as Senator Hillary Clinton to allay concerns about the emirate's purchase of six U.S. ports as part of its buyout of Peninsula & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. Sultan bin Sulayem, chairman of the state-owned DP World, is heading the team will discuss Dubai's management of P&O operations in the U.S., which include the ports of New York and Baltimore, a United Arab Emirates' Foreign Ministry official said in a phone interview today.

Democratic Senators Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Hillary Clinton of New York are seeking to prohibit companies owned or controlled by foreign governments from buying U.S. port operations. A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is calling for hearings on DP World's $6.8 billion purchase of London-based P&O that would give a company owned by Dubai's ruling Maktoum family, control over some operations at six U.S. ports.

``It's obviously sensitive and politics is coming into it,'' said Donald Struthers, a security adviser at U.K.-based Poseidon Maritime Ltd., whose clients include port authorities and shipping lines. DP World complies ``with international laws and from a security point of view that's the bottom line.''

P&O's biggest operations in the U.S. are at the Port of Newark, where it has 30-year lease from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to operate the 180-acre terminal, which can handle about 1 million containers a year. The lease is shared by A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, the largest container-shipping company. P&O also has a 50 percent stake in the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Company, which handles about 500,000 containers a year at the port in Florida.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=apvLCRK73Efw&refer=japan

We need to watch very closely who they talk to.

they didn't bother to let Congress in on the deal

We should not only follow the money, but follow the family ties by meat injection.

later, when they're out of power?

Besides that, where's the screening processm for employees and managers, why was sale kept secret from CONGRESS and why was this secretive committee that approved the sale all members of BushCo?

And do we trust Michael Jerktoff of Katrina response fame to make a sound judgment as to who should run the ports?

NO!

operating our ports, the difference being P&O is not controlled by their government. I think our ports should be operated by American companies period.

The only thing they can convince anyone of is to sell out their own country for cash or consideration. That kind of argument has won out far too often in this country, and the worm has turned.

they can't ease fears.

scary times. B@$h et alia are selling off our country piecemeal. :cry:

President George W. Bush's administration last month named Dave Sanborn, director of operations for DP World in Europe and Latin America, as U.S. Maritime Administrator. Sanborn is expected to take up his post later this year.

The Maritime Administration is responsible for ensuring the marine infrastructure meets the economic and security needs of the U.S., according to its Web site.

obviously be looked at, lowest bidder or not.

Because Dubai and Singapore were bidding to own the company that owns the facilities (on leasehold) - and Dubai were the highest bidder. The facilities are run as a business - ships pay them to load and unload cargo there. "Lowest bidder" is completely wrong.

THAT SUPPORT THIS TREASONOUS ADMINISTRATION, DON'T GET A WAKE UP CALL ON THIS, THEN THERE IS NO HOPE!

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO IMPEACH THIS P.O.S BUSH???!!!

Surely this government wouldn't fall for it? Oh wait.

RUN!!!!

them get the fuck out of my back yard..and get the fuck out of my country..this fish will not swim!

two of them killed my co-workers... i live near Newark NJ...and it will be over my dead body before those fucks are running anything in my country...i will be the republicans worst nightmare!

fly

to pass out here because otherwise this port deal is going nowhere.

Prooves MIHOP 150%!!!!!

Yessiree, I've looked into their hearts, and I now feel super-safe.