MSCs Offer Gets Green Light from Long Beach

Port of Long Beach Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has received a green light from the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners to take over sole control of the long-term lease of the ports largest terminal. Under the agreement, MSCs subsidiary Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) will replace the bankrupt South Korean carrier Hanjin Shipping by taking over its 54 percent stake in the terminal operator Total Terminals International (TTI) at the ports 381-acre Pier T container terminal. The deal also guarantees the accelerated installation of ship-to-shore cranes capable of handling the worlds biggest container ships, the port of Long Beach said. MSC already holds the remaining 46 percent stake in the terminal operator. This decision comes at a crucial time. With all of the changes that have taken place in the shipping industry in recent years, certainty is very important, Lori Ann Guzmán, Board of Harbor Commissioners President, said. Although we regret the loss of a long-term partner in Hanjin Shipping, we look forward to the opportunities that Terminal Investment Limited, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Hyundai Merchant Marine and their ‘2M Alliance’ partners will bring to Long Beach, Guzmán added. Terminal Investment Limited earlier this week announced it had signed an agreement to purchase Hanjin Shippings stake in the terminal operator at Pier T. After the deal received approval from the Seoul Central District Court, the South Korean bankruptcy court sought approval from U.S. authorities, including the Port of Long Beach.