Business & Tech
Port of Portland Regains Control Of Terminal 6 In Effort To Rebuild Container Business
After years of labor problems sent container ships away from Portland, the Port will now have a chance to bring them back.
When the Port of Portland signed a deal in 2010 with Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services Incorporated to operate its container business at Terminal 6, it seemed like a brilliant idea. The port had had trouble on its own and bringing in a company with a track record seemed like it would guarantee a steady stream of revenue.
The deal was to be for 25 years.
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This week, the deal is no more. That is, pending approval from the Port's Board of Commissioners.
The two sides have agreed to part ways. ICTSI Oregon - which was formed to run the business - will be let out of its obligations and the Port will receive $11.45 million to rebuild business, as well as additional container handling equipment, spare parts, and tools at the terminal.
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"This is the best opportunity to launch a new strategy to restore carrier service for Oregon and Northwest shippers," said Bill Wyatt, Port executive director. "While the global carrier industry continues to undergo rapid change, we now have a new path to redefine our future in this business and launch new strategies to bring the terminal back to life."
While ICTSI Oregon had a good first year, by 2012, they started to have labor issues with Local 8 of the International Longshoremen Workers Union. That dispute eventually stopped work at the terminal.
Things got so bad that in Feb. 2015, Hanjin Shipping - the Korean giant that accounted for more than 75 percent of the traffic at Terminal 6 - announced they were pulling out.
Two months later, Hapag-Lloyd, the German shipping line, announced they were following suit.
There has not been a ship at the terminal since last May.
The Port's Board of Commissioners will vote on accepting the deal on March 8. Then comes the work of trying to figure out how to reopen the terminal and make money.
During the more than 30 years that the Port ran the terminal - only two of those years were profitable.
Photo Port of Portland
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