• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Federal Probe Could Kill New York Harbor Ports' Deal, Congressman Says

Posted on: Thursday, 16 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Michael McAuliff, Daily News, New York

Feb. 16--WASHINGTON -- The White House is launching an investigation into the Dubai-owned company that just bought control of two New York Harbor ports -- and could kill the deal, Rep. Pete King said yesterday.

The company, Dubai Ports World, agreed Monday to buy P&O Ports, a London firm that runs Manhattan's West Side cruise ship terminal and Newark's containerport.

"I called the White House and said I have concerns with this and asked to not go ahead with it until there's been a full investigation," said King (R-L.I.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

"This company is coming out of a country that has had a strong Al Qaeda presence," King said. Port security is already a weak spot in the U.S., he added, and giving control of two major facilities to Dubai has to be examined carefully, even though Dubai has become an ally against terrorism.

King echoed Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who raised red flags over the deal, but Mayor Bloomberg seemed less concerned with a possible threat.

"We are not gonna lock ourselves into a cocoon, [but] I think every one of the senator's concerns has to be addressed," he said.

King said he was also getting a report on Dubai Ports World from the Homeland Security Department. He said he was concerned about reports the company has allowed illegal shipments into Iran. He also ordered his committee to look at how the secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., led by the Treasury Department, evaluates such deals.

"From what I understand, Treasury is politically tone-deaf on this," King said. "They didn't think they even had to talk to anybody about this."

Rep. Vito Fossella (R-S.I.) called on King to hold congressional hearings. King said he might agree, particularly to see whether the law governing port ownership should be changed.

--With Michael Saul

-----

To see more of the Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.NYDailyNews.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, Daily News, New York

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Daily News

More News in this Category