WASHINGTON: Bidders for the $6 billion Port of Melbourne lease are becoming increasingly nervous as two of the three stevedores at the port are engaged in legal action weeks away from when final bids are due.
Patrick, which is a subsidiary of Asciano, is the latest to be engaged in legal action against the Port of Melbourne Corporation over a wording in a deal that implies the stevedore will be given an extra 21-year lease. Patrick already has a 21-year lease at the port. The Port of Melbourne is disputing the claim and says Patrick is misinterpreting the wording. Neither Patrick nor the Port of Melbourne Corporation would comment on the case. It means two of the three stevedores at the port are engaged in legal action just weeks away from final bids for the 50-year lease.
Another stevedore, International Container Terminal Services Incorporated, is in a dispute over the rent it is paying. ICTSI is paying 750 per cent above the current rate. It is pushing for documents to be released from a deal between another stevedore at the port, DP World, and Port of Melbourne Corporation, which led to the port backing down on its plan to increase rents for all stevedores.
