Ports America inks New Orleans terminal deal

The largest U.S. terminal operator and stevedore gets 50-year lease for terminals at the Port of New Orleans and will invest $66.5 million in infrastructure and equipment.    The Port of New Orleans said its board of commissioners has approved a long-term lease infrastructure agreement with Ports America, the largest U.S. terminal operator and stevedore.
   The port will issue an amended and restated 50-year lease allowing Ports America to continue to operate at the Napoleon Avenue and Nashville Avenue terminals.
   As part of the agreement, Ports America will invest $66.5 million in infrastructure and equipment to accommodate up to four new 100-foot gauge container cranes at the terminals. The investment will facilitate the ability to work larger ships and increases in cargo volume.
   The port said the agreements “will bolster capabilities at existing Port NOLA terminals and open the door for expansion opportunities elsewhere in the Port’s three-parish jurisdiction — Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard parishes.”
   The new agreement also outlines the potential for additional Port NOLA and Ports America partnerships to increase container capacity with new infrastructure at other potential locations in the port’s tri-parish jurisdiction, including development of a new container terminal capable of handling vessels of all sizes. If the port and Ports America determine an expansion project is feasible at a new location, Ports America will invest a minimum of $300 million and receive a right of first negotiation for development and operating rights.
   The port also is providing Ports America with a three-year right to assess and develop an off-dock gate, container yard, chassis depot and/or intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF) that would support existing or new container terminals.
   In October, Navis said Ports America had implemented its N4 computer system at the Napoleon Avenue Terminal.
   In an interview with Lloyd’s List in November, Mark Montgomery, the chief executive officer of Ports America, said the company was “moving from a sale mode to a growth mode” and that its owner, Oaktree Capital, had a new transportation infrastructure fund that is looking at investing in ports and other assets. Oaktree acquired Ports America as part of its 2014 purchase of Highstar Capital.
   Ports America already has more than 80 terminals in 42 ports on the East, West and Gulf coasts of North America, handling containers, roll on/roll off cargo, general cargo and cruise line passengers. Montgomery said, however, it is looking to add assets in the U.S. and Canada.
   He told Lloyd’s List that the Long Beach Container Terminal, which the U.S. government is forcing the parent of OOCL to sell as part of its acquisition by COSCO Shipping, would be an attractive opportunity.