The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are the largest in the

[enid602]

US, and the third largest in the world. I read a couple of years ago that 40% of everything imported into and exported out of the US goes through the Ports of LA. Who owns/operates the Ports of LA, and can this serve as an example as to how we might treat the ports affected by the DPW proposition.

[Old and In the Way]

1. I think I read that the Port of Long Beah is run by a Chinese company.

[Jayhawk Lib]

6. They are run by a Singapore company

which is Chinese. This happened in the late 1990s. The Republicans complained that Clinton sold out to the Chinese for campaign contributions which I do not think was the case. I do not know why the Chinese got the job of running the ports but I am sure Clinton had his reasons.

[Dunvegan]

2. From the "Port of Los Angeles" homepage

The Port of Los Angeles is a department of the City of Los Angeles and is often referred to as the Los Angeles Harbor Department. The Port is operated and managed under a State Tidelands Trust that grants local municipalities jurisdiction over ports and stipulates that activities must be related to commerce, navigation and fisheries. A five-member Board of Harbor Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Los Angeles City Council to provide direction and create policy for the Port.

As a proprietary and self-supporting department, the Port is not supported by taxes. Instead, revenue is derived from fees for shipping services such as dockage, wharfage, pilotage, storage, property rentals, royalties and other Port services. Considered a landlord port, the Port of Los Angeles leases it property to tenants who then, in turn, operate their own facilities.

[salin]

3. What? How has that gotten by the privatizers?

What a travesty - it must be sold to the highest bidder! :sarcasm:

[ChazII]

4. Not supported by taxes

there is a novel idea.

[enid602]

9. security

Nor protected by Homeland Security. Last year was the first in which the US Gov't contributed to security at the Ports of Los Angeles; a measely $5 million. Any disturbance or terrorist incident there would put the West Coast economy in a tailspin.

[Inspector77]

11. "Arabs are BUYING our Ports" is a NeoCon Anti-Arab canard.

Local govenments own the ports. Operator licenses for various terminals in the port are given
to terminal operators. In the case of P&O (being acquired by DPW), they only a modest portion of the terminals in the ports in which they have operator rights.

[Inspector77]

5. I think all U.S. ports are owned and run by the local municipalites.

[Greyhound]

7. Cosco is the name of the Chinese (Taiwan?) company that brings

in a huge percentage of all the traffic in the port(s).

[enid602]

8. choices

It would seem, then that there are other companies involved in operating ports. I think it's been portrayed in the press that our only choice is Dubai Ports World.

[Inspector77]

10. COSCO -- China Ocean Shipping Company