Page 34: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (Jul/Aug 2017)

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LINER TRADES

A Long Strange Trip fund packagers, carrier business combinations with a short

The voyage to market dominance is not without its freak time fuse may fy in the face of arrangements with terminals waves. One arrangement that would not move forward, blow- typically predicated on decade-long commitments to cargo ing up in mid 2014, was a VSA dubbed “P3”, which would throughputs.

have brought a combined set of services from top seed Maersk

With the announcement of the OOIL acquisition by Cosco, (controlling 16% of mid 2017 capacity with 3.35 million concerns have been raised about Chinese ownership of OOIL’s

TEU), the number 2 player Mediterranean Shipping Company terminal business, which includes a commitment through the (presently controlling 3.06 million TEUs, or just under 15% year 2051 to move cargo through its newly constructed Long of capacity), and CMA-CGM.

Beach Container Terminal (owned through other companies

The consolidation trend also brings ripple effects to other in the Tung Group) in Long Beach, California. aspects of the business. In another wrinkle on such deals,

With the U.S. political mood and the Trump administra- landside terminals tied to affected carriers may change hands tion’s attitudes towards China’s state-owned companies more – for a combination of fnancial, tactical and strategic reasons. unpredictable than freight rates, the situation in Long Beach

In a deal that fnally closed in July 2017, NOL’s not so new bears watching. There is some history here; observers may parent, CMA CGM, recouped more than $800 million (used remember the 2006 fap when DP World (controlled in the to pay down company debt) from the sale of a 90% stake in Emirates) took over the venerable P&O Ports. Following in- the Global Gateway South Terminal, in Los Angeles that had tense objections regarding foreign control, the U.S. terminals been held by NOL. The buyers were a pair of infrastructure were sold into a company that evolved into Ports America funds and such investors seek assets with long term deals. For (originally part of AIG, but now held by an entity linked to 34 Maritime Logistics Professional July/August 2017 | |