Beaumont, Texas, Port Commissioners Question Dubai Ports Deal
By Angela Macias, The Beaumont Enterprise, Texas
redorbit.com
Feb. 28--Port of Beaumont Commissioners on Monday voiced concerns over the sale of a port operations company that handles the local shipping of military cargo.
The deal involving Dubai Ports World has been defended by the Bush administration despite strong criticism by national leaders.
The United Arab Emirates' state-owned business wants to buy Peninsular and Oriental, which works out of Beaumont and most Gulf Coast ports.
At the end of the board meeting, Commissioner Georgine Guillory weighed in on the discussion, expressing dismay about the possible sale to an Arab company.
It could raise security problems for the port, she said.
"There's always something that can get through that's not detected," Guillory said.
Commissioner Lee Smith backed those comments.
"I hope the sale does not come through," he said.
Dubai Ports World agreed to a second, more intense review, which will take 45 days to conduct.
Port board president Pete Shelton and commissioners Henry Nix and Nell Clark said they are waiting on the outcome of the review to comment.
"I'm looking forward to what the results may be," Clark said.
At the Port of Beaumont, Peninsular and Oriental works as a middleman between the shippers and port personnel.
The company supplies equipment and longshoremen to do the loading.
If there is a sudden switch in the employees working out of the port, commissioner Louis Broussard Jr. said it would cause him to be alarmed.
"If the transaction goes through and they start changing up people then I have a major problem with that," he said.
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