Dubai bid includes Vancouver
COLIN FREEZE
theglobeandmail.com
From Friday's Globe and Mail
On the Vancouver waterfront, it's a debate conspicuous only by its absence. U.S. politicians may be denouncing the sale of U.S. port facilities to a Middle Eastern firm, but Canadian officials are blasé about the B.C. end of the deal.
“Get a grip, fellas,” is Canadian Senator Colin Kenny's message to his U.S. counterparts. The senator, who has spent recent years complaining that Canada's port security is overly lax, insists he's not at all worried about the news now making big waves south of the border.
In a multibillion-dollar deal that is reconfiguring the container-shipping industry, British-based P&O Ports is selling off terminals in several major U.S. cities and one in Vancouver. Dubai Ports World, which is controlled by the United Arab Emirates government, is buying the assets.
U.S. legislators, who argue that the UAE has a spotty record on fighting terrorism, suggest the deal makes them jittery about the prospect of dirty bombs and terrorists landing in New York and New Jersey. Congressmen are asking a reluctant President George W. Bush to scuttle or review the deal, charging that his administration failed to consider all the security issues.
In Canada, there have been few reports that a Canadian asset is part of the deal. But what's at stake, specifically, is the Centerm hub in Burrard Inlet, which handles about a quarter of the shipping containers passing through Canada's third-largest city. Centerm is where P&O — and soon, Dubai Ports World — makes money by loading and unloading shipping containers.
Canadian authorities say it's unlikely any company that happens to be based in the Middle East, least of all the United Arab Emirates, would allow terrorists to threaten their operations. “The folks in Dubai certainly are good allies,” said Mr. Kenny, who visited Dubai a couple of times last year.
But since 2001, he's spent a lot more time visiting Canada's ports as part of a Senate investigation. While vulnerability to international terrorism remains a major concern for the senator, he says the real scourge of Canada's ports is to be found at home. “Our problem is Vancouver is rife with organized crime,” Mr. Kenny says.
Executives with the Vancouver Port Authority say Mr. Kenny overstates the criminal activity, but agree that the new acquisition is no different than any of the wheeling-dealing in the shipping industry.
“Dubai Ports World has a good reputation and we're looking forward to working with them,” said Duncan Wilson, a spokesman. |
