Long Beach Weighs Offer for Hanjin Terminal

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners will consider a proposal by a terminal investor to take over a majority stake in a long-term lease to operate the largest container terminal in the Port of Long Beach.

If approved, the pact could bring in business to replace the cargo volume lost at Long Beach’s Pier T when South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping declared bankruptcy in August.

Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), a subsidiary of the Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), earlier this week announced it had signed an agreement to purchase Hanjin Shipping’s stake in the terminal operator at Pier T. The South Korean bankruptcy court is seeking approvals for the agreement from U.S. authorities, including the Port of Long Beach.

“We welcome the industry’s interest in Long Beach’s Pier T. As our largest terminal, it’s a remarkable asset, with an important role in handling the cargo that sustains so many jobs in Long Beach and the region,” said Board of Harbor Commissioners President Lori Ann Guzmán. “If the Board approves this agreement, we look forward to working with our industry partners to continue improving and modernizing the Port of Long Beach.”

Total Terminals International (TTI), the terminal operating company for Hanjin Shipping, signed a 25-year lease to operate Pier T in Long Beach in August 2002. In 2013, Mediterranean Shipping Co. bought a share of the Total Terminals lease at Pier T. The new pact would give MSC sole control of the lease and would require installation of two new cranes capable of handling container ships with capacities of 20,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), within three years.