DP World will run operations in 21 ports, not only in 6

The deal approved by the administration for Dubai Ports World, the United Arab Emirates government-owned company, calls for the company to manage operations in twenty-one U.S. ports, not in six ports as the administration initially indicated. The Bush administration has approved the takeover of British-owned Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation to DP World on 17 January, and the deal will go forward 2 March unless Congress intervenes (DP World and the White House agreed late last week that the part of the deal having to do with taking over operations in U.S. ports would be postponed until further notice). Of the 21 ports which will be taken over by DP World, 11 are on the East Coast, ranging from Portland, Maine to Miami, Florida, and 10 are on the Gulf Coast, from Gulfport, Mississippi to Corpus Christi, Texas.

Republican and Democratic members of Congress point to a 1992 amendment to a law that requires a 45-day review if the foreign takeover of a U.S. company “could affect national security,” arguing that such a review is mandatory in this case. The Bush administration says that a review is only triggered if a cabinet official expresses a national security concern during an interagency review of a proposed takeover.

-read more in this UPI report