|
Seattle and Tacoma At Odds Over NYK Port Move |
 |
 |
 |
|
Monday, 30 July 2007 10:00 |
Last week, Tacoma celebrated as Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) announced that they were moving their main port of call from Seattle to Tacoma, where the Port of Tacoma will build a $300 million terminal for NYK that will handle as many as 1.8 million TEUs annually. The new terminal will be operational by 2012 and is the most expensive ever built in Tacoma.
Now, the Port of Seattle is crying foul. NYK is one of the Port of Seattle's oldest container port customers. NYK has called on Seattle for more than 100 years. Officials in Seattle are implying that the move will strain the relationship between Seattle and Tacoma, and that Tacoma is expanding at Seattle's expense.
NYK does not have its own port in Seattle, but uses SSA Marine's port. In Tacoma, the new port will be NYK's exclusively. NYK's decision to move was based on its ability to have its own port of call at Tacoma, a move the company considers a strategic imperative. The Port of Seattle does not have enough room to allow NYK to have its own port, but officials there say they are disappointed by the announcement, since Seattle made $300 million in port improvements just five years ago.
|
