WASHINGTON: After a brief spat, the Port of Seattle has dropped its objection to the sale of bankrupt Hanjin’s operations at Terminal 46 west of the stadiums. The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which controls the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, said Friday it had struck a deal with the proposed new owners and withdrawn the opposition it expressed in bankruptcy court just a week earlier.
The port wanted the planned future owners of the terminal operations — Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping and its affiliate, Luxembourg-based Terminal Investment Limited — to provide a one-year security deposit of at least $11.2 million and documents proving its financial mettle. The port asked a judge to block the sale if those conditions weren’t met. But a spokeswoman for the port said it had agreed with Mediterranean and Terminal Investment on a deal that satisfied local officials. The port didn’t get the security deposit it wanted but did secure a two-year corporate guaranty from the proposed new owners, which would take over a lease that runs through 2025. The port expects to get about $20 million over those two years.
The port also reviewed the new owners’ financial documents, which gave officials confidence in the deal, said spokeswoman Tara Mattina. The port was worried after South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping, which was the majority owner of the terminal operations, went bankrupt in August, leaving the facility in limbo. Hanjin agreed to sell its stake in Seattle and Long Beach terminal operations for $78 million late last year. The sale is being weighed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey, and a judge heard other objections to the proposed deal late this week. The Long Beach port has already approved its portion of the deal, but the Wall Street Journal reported that some U.S. creditors still oppose the sale.
