After coming close to being owned and run by the United Arab Emirates, operations at the Port of Baltimore?s Seagirt Marine Terminal and several other U.S. ports will remain in U.S. hands.
Dubai Ports World announced Monday the Arab-government-controlled company has sold operations at six U.S. ports to AIG Global Investment Group, a multibillion dollar asset-management firm based in New York.
“We are encouraged by today’s agreement between Dubai Ports World and AIG Global,” said Maryland Port AdministrationExecutive Director Brooks Royster.
“This has been a long process, and it is good for all parties that it is finally moving forward. Throughout the duration of this process, it has been business as usual at the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore. We do not foresee any significant changes in operations in the short-term. We look forward to reviewing long-term investments in infrastructure with AIG in the near future, including our most important capital project, a 50-foot berth at the Seagirt Marine Terminal,” Royster said.
Seagirt Terminal, the Port of Baltimore?s main container terminal, was the only facility at the port subject to operation control by Dubai Ports. The Maryland Port Administration operates most of the other terminals.
Dubai Ports bought Britain’s Penisular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., often referred to as P&O Holdings, for $6.8 billion in February. The deal included port operation at terminals in several sites, including Baltimore, New York/New Jersey, Miami, New Orleans, Tampa, Fla., and Philadelphia.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the chairman of Dubai Ports World, said, “While we are disappointed to be exiting the U.S. market, the price we received was fair. We are pleased that POPNA will have a strong owner in AIG and wish them well for the future.”
The deal was approved by Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which his headed by the U.S. Department of Treasury and included the Departments of State, Commerce and Homeland Security.
But both Republican and Democratic members of Congress objected to the sale arguing that the 9/11 Commission Report noted that two the airplane hijackers were nationals of the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai agreed to sell the U.S. port operations to ward off a political fight between Congress and the Bush administration.
