WASHINGON: New Jersey-based stevedore and terminal operating company Ports America will invest in Los Angeles, Long Beach, the Pacific Northwest and western Canada as part of West Coast expansion strategy, but it will terminate a 50-year lease with the Port of Oakland. These locations are suitable for Ports America’s realignment goals, according to the company.
Ports America is planning for expansion and investment opportunities in its existing locations at both the Port of Tacoma and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. In addition, the company was invited into the process for new opportunities in the Pacific Northwest.
“This West Coast strategy complements what Ports America already has accomplished on the East Coast by investing in superior equipment and infrastructure at Ports America’s locations such as Port Newark Container Terminal (PNCT), Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore and Miami, where, upon completion of the Panama Canal expansion, the markets will demand it,” according to a statement.
Ports America plans to invest $500 million at PNCT by 2030 for expansion, which is expected to double the number of containers moving through the terminal and create significant economic growth within the region. As part of its strategy, Ports America is leaving the Port of Oakland, terminating a 50-year lease with the port.
The company’s joint venture in Oakland’s Outer Harbor Terminal would be returning the leased property back to the port. Ports America said it will continue to provide vessel services for 30 days and then take an additional 30 days to transition out of the terminal.
Oakland port officials were disappointed with Ports America’s announcement. They plans to consider other uses for the soon-to-be-vacant terminal apart from container operations, The Wall Street Journal reported.
