Hanjin approves Jacksonville terminal deal

[jbm32206]

This is good news for our import/export business
The Board of Directors of Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. of Seoul, South Korea today approved a 30-year lease agreement with Jacksonville Port Authority for a $300 million shipping container operation at the Dames Point Marine Terminal in North Jacksonville.

According to the agreement, Jaxport will build and Hanjin will lease an 88-acre container facility with an option for further expansion. The Jacksonville Port Authority Board of Directors approved the lease deal Nov. 3. The contract is to be finalized with a signing ceremony Dec. 10 in Jacksonville.

The new terminal, to be complete in late 2011, is expected to create more than 5,600 new jobs, port officials indicated in a release. Times-Union (http://news.jacksonville.com/justin/2008/11/11/hanjin-approves-jacksonville-terminal-deal/)

[jbm32206]

Well, the deal was signed today...this is good news for our port.
An agreement to construct a new 90-acre, $300 million container terminal at the Jacksonville Port Authority's Dames Point terminal for Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. of Korea was signed Wednesday morning.Officials of the Korean shipping giant, and Jaxport signing the contract in a ceremony held at the current cruise terminal.

The major expansion comes as a container terminal for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines of Japan nears completion. When the Hanjin terminal is completed in late 2011, Jacksonville's ability to handle containerized freight will triple current capacity.

Together, the terminals are expected to bring more than 5,000 direct or indirect jobs to the port and have an annual economic impact of $6 billion on the Jacksonville area."Suddenly, it compels us into a completely different class of port," Jaxport Executive Director Rick Ferrin said after the signing. "Now it makes us a major port -- a really major port in the container business and that's whey I think we really have the potential to become the third largest port on the East Coast of the United States.

"The Hanjin terminal will be build on the current site of the cruise-ship facility. Jaxport is in the planning stages of building a new cruise-ship terminal in Mayport a plan that has drawn opposition for residents and businesses in the historic fishing villagenews4jax.com (http://www.news4jax.com/money/18245034/detail.html)

[CS Foltz]

Well .....I hope to hell they try and plan something as mundane as rail acess! The taxpayers will get to pay for road upgrades that the trucks will break down so the taxpayers will get to pay to fix the roads that the trucks broke down!.....if they had truck only lanes great.....but to mix thousands of trucks with private traffic is stupid and unsafe! This is a crowning glory for the Boy Prince and his vassels......he is as effective as dubya!

[jbm32206]

Looks like this deal may not pan out...and appears to be linked to issues with a contractual agreement with the International Longshoremen’s Association...and problems with Jaxport not following through.
In a potential blow to Jacksonville gaining a Hanjin Shipping terminal, the Korean company told the Jacksonville Port Authority in a Nov. 16 letter (http://news.jacksonville.com/specials/pdfs/Hanjin_letter.pdf) that a standstill on labor talks means Hanjin “will no longer be able to spend any more time or resources on this venture.”

The letter was written by G.S. Choi, a high-ranking Hanjin executive who came to Jacksonville a year ago for the ceremony that signed an agreement between Hanjin and the Port Authority. The agreement set Hanjin on course to build a terminal near the Dames Point bridge. It would make Jacksonville a major player in handling Asian-based cargo shipped to East Coast ports.

The terminal could be open for business in 2013, but construction is contingent on Hanjin first reaching agreement with the International Longshoremen’s Association on labor issues. Hanjin officials did not return calls for comment Wednesday.

Port Authority spokeswoman Nancy Rubin said JaxPort and Hanjin have talked since the port received the letter. She said she could not speak on behalf of Hanjin, but she said port officials remain confident the labor issues can be resolved. “We think this is all going to work out,” she said Wednesday.

Rick Ferrin, chief executive officer for the Port Authority, plans to meet today with International Longshoremen’s Association officials at the union’s regional office in Houston. The Port Authority is not involved in the labor talks between Hanjin and the union, but Ferrin said JaxPort can encourage them to reach an agreement. “As a landlord port, we really cannot champion one side over the other,” he said. “As a landlord port, we really cannot champion one side over the other,” he said.

Jess Babich, president of ILA Clerks and Checkers Local 1593 in Jacksonville, said he thinks the union and Hanjin can find accord on a labor agreement. The major issue has been how the highly automated terminal planned by Hanjin would affect the use of union workers at the terminal. “I think personally that talks will resume, Hanjin will be at the table, and there will be an agreement between the ILA and Hanjin for a terminal at the Port of Jacksonville,” Babich said. He said the union had been waiting for completion of negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance that extended a master contract for labor issues at ports along the Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast. Union members voted Nov. 17 to extend that master contract through 2012. The vote occurred the day after Choi wrote his letter.

“Although we understand these things always take time, I think you will agree this project has been pushed aside long enough,” Choi wrote. “With thousands of new jobs and millions in revenue at stake, Hanjin Shipping expected much more support from both JaxPort and the city of Jacksonville. Despite our best efforts to make a Hanjin terminal in Jacksonville a reality, I’m afraid Hanjin Shipping will no longer be able to spend any more time or resources on this venture.”

To date, the only impact of stalled labor talks has been the Port Authority postponing selection of a firm to design the terminal. The JPA board had been on track to vote on that selection at Wednesday’s board meeting, but board Chairman David Kulik opted to keep it off the agenda. Rubin said Hanjin officials have told the Port Authority the company also doesn’t want to move forward on the project unless labor issues are taken care of first.


By: david.bauerlein@jacksonville.com As printe (http://jacksonville.com/business/2009-12-09/story/jacksonville_ports_blockbuster_deal_with_hanjin_in _trouble)d in the Times Union

[Ralph W]

The Longshoremen are still in the buggy whip days, protecting jobs through union action or inaction, refusing to acknowledge progress has been made, horse drawn drays are long out of vogue and two or more bodies on the payroll for some jobs long gone is counterproductive. Union demands may well scuttle Jaxport and the city's big dreams.

[CS Foltz]

Ralph W.........that view may be closer to the truth than you realize! At one time Unions did serve a function as in protecting workers on the job..........but in today age, the word "Dinosaur" comes to mind!

[Dog Walker]

Being the Longshoreman's Union it is also possible that the bribes offered to the top officers of the Union were not big enough. They DO have a history!

[buckethead]

How can the Longshoremen have such control over a deal like this, especially considering Florida is a "Right to Work" state.

Do they own the port?

How can they have a monopoly on labor for a port expansion?

[jbm32206]

Florida is indeed a right to work state but the longshoremen still end up with contracts for the port.

We simply cannot let this deal fall apart, Jax is an ideal location for container/cargo ships, with ground and air transportation close by. There's other major ports Hanjin could turn to, like Savannah, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York...which already service these major cargo carriers. Having this company set up here would be a major plus for our port.

[Diane Melendez]

The deal is actually falling apart from inside Hanjin do to their own internal problems and no one can do anything about that.

[Springfield Rulz's!]

Diane, do you have a contact at Hanjin you have spoken with that told you they have internal issues? Losing Hanjin would be a sad lose of new jobs for our City.

[Diane Melendez]

Don't need a "contact" on this one SR, it has been in several local news articles. Read The thread I just posted on Jaxport and the Jags and the story linked to one of the latests TU pieces on the topic.

[Uh Duh]

Good news posted by the Times-Union
Officials representing Hanjin and the International Longshoremen’s Association reached an agreement last week on the terms of a labor agreement for the planned Hanjin terminal in Jacksonville, a top union leader said today.

The agreement will undergo review by attorneys for Hanjin and the union, said Charles Spencer, executive vice president of the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District of the ILA.
Full Story:
http://jacksonville.com/business/2010-01-21/story/hanjin_union_leaders_agree_on_labor_deal_for_jacks onville_terminal?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JacksonvillecomsNewsSportsAnd Entertainment+%28Jacksonville%27s+Most+Recent+Head lines+-+Jacksonville.com+and+The+Florida+Times-Union%29

:biggrin:

[CS Foltz]

"The agreement will undergo review by attorneys " means it is not official yet!