Board Approves News

Samsung Heavy Industries turned down an offer to take over rival shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the top shareholder of Daewoo said on Tuesday.State-funded Korea Development Bank (KDB), which holds a 56 percent stake in Daewoo, said it aims to sign a deal to sell the shipbuilder to sole bidder Hyundai Heavy Industries once its board approves it in early March.Hyundai Heavy, the world's biggest shipbuilding group, announced a share swap deal worth 2.1 trillion…

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.

TraPac, LLC has reached agreement to nearly double its marine terminal size at the Port of Oakland. Wilmington, CA-based TraPac said today it plans to lease an additional 57 acres and two vessel berths on the Port’s Outer Harbor. If the deal is approved, it would greatly strengthen TraPac’s position as the second-largest terminal operator in Oakland. TraPac disclosed its plans at a meeting of Oakland’s Board of Port Commissioners last night. The proposed 14-year lease agreement with the Port becomes final if the Board approves it at a meeting Oct. 27. “This is a significant step forward for TraPac and the Port,” said Port Maritime Director John Driscoll. Marine terminals load and unload containerships in Oakland. They release containerized imports to cargo owners.

The Panama Canal board of directors this week formally approved the development and construction of a transshipment port in Panama’s Corozal region. Upon completion, the port will have the capacity to handle more than five million TEUs within a 120-hectare area at the canal’s entrance to the Pacific. The project is now awaiting the final step for approval from Panama’s National Assembly. The project is another example of the canal’s continual commitment to develop new products, enhancing customer service and furthering Panama’s position as the logistics and maritime hub of the Americas.

Brazil's MMX said late Wednesday it approved the lease and possible sale of its Corumba, high-grade iron ore unit, part of efforts to raise cash and restructure the troubled mining company controlled by Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista. The Rio de Janeiro-based company, formally known as MMX Mineracao e Metalicos SA, did not name the person or company that has agreed to lease the mining rights of its MMX Corumba unit in Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul state near the Bolivian border. The plan was approved by the MMX board, the company said in a securities filing. MMX shares rose 0.55 percent in late-morning trading in Sao Paulo Thursday, putting the stock on track for its biggest one-day gain in nearly two weeks.

The board of Brazil's state-run oil company, Petrobras, approved the exploration of new oil and gas fields in February, Planning Minister Miriam Belchior said on Friday, countering criticism by some board members that they were not previously informed of a 15 billion reais ($6.8 billion) oil-rights deal. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, on Tuesday was awarded the rights to explore four fields off Brazil's southeast coast believed to contain an estimated 5 billion to 9 billion barrels of oil. In return, it will pay the government 15 billion reais through 2018, with 2 billion reais going to the Treasury's coffers this year. The cash will help the government with its fiscal goals amid a weakening economy.

Board approves move to temporary headquarters at 4801 Airport Plaza Drive. The Port's administrative staff of about 350 people is expected to move to Airport Plaza in 2013. The Board stressed that the move is temporary, and that discussions will begin soon on building a permanent headquarters in or near downtown Long Beach. "I am relieved that we have identified a secure, temporary home," said Board President Susan E. Anderson Wise. Wise, and commissioners Rich Dines, Doug Drummond and Nick Sramek voted in favor of purchasing the Airport Plaza building.

Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority's Stepped up Mission to Foster Job Creation and Economic Vitality. The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s Board of Directors approved a new Strategic Plan today focused on growing both the maritime and development finance businesses and tackling critical infrastructure projects on the Cuyahoga River – all with the mission of fostering job creation and economic vitality. “The Board and our community have demonstrated strong support…

GlobalSantaFe Corporation announced that its board of directors has approved a regular cash dividend of $0.05 per ordinary share. This dividend is payable on January 15, 2004, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 31, 2003.

Houston-based offshore drilling contractor GlobalSantaFe Corporation announced that its board of directors has approved a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.0325 per ordinary share. The dividend is payable on January 15, 2002, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 31, 2001. In connection with a recent merger, former Global Marine Inc. shareholders were mailed a transmittal form for the surrender of their common stock in exchange for GlobalSantaFe ordinary shares. Those shareholders who have not surrendered their common stock certificates and transmittal form for exchange by the payment date, will receive their dividend from the exchange agent when the shares are exchanged.

Authorizing the expenditure of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Port Security Grant Funds, the Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved an agreement with Siemens Building Technologies for waterborne security barriers. The $2.9m design-build agreement includes the design, fabrication and delivery of 10,000 feet of floating security barriers. The Port of Los Angeles is taking the lead on this joint Port of Los Angeles/Port of Long Beach project which was approved in Round 3 of the TSA's Port Security Grants. Each port will receive 5,000 feet of the waterborne barriers. These barriers will be placed at key locations around the ports during heightened security times. They will provide protection against certain types of attacks and will form a line of demarcation.

Bankrupt Bethlehem Steel Corporation has reached an agreement in principle with International Steel Group (ISG) for the sale of substantially all of Bethlehem's assets. The agreement is subject to the approval of Bethlehem's board, the completion of an asset purchase agreement, the approval of the bankruptcy court having jurisdiction of Bethlehem's chapter 11 case and the satisfaction of certain conditions to closing, including required governmental approvals and other consents, and the resolution of certain claims by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The terms of the sale, which are under review by the board, will be considered in a special meeting of Bethlehem's board this Saturday, February 8.

Newport News Shipbuilding Inc.'s board voted to back the $2.1 billion takeover offer from fellow defense contractor General Dynamics Corp. over a rival offer from Northrop Grumman Corp. Newport News, a warship builder, said in a statement its board voted unanimously to recommend the company go with General Dynamics' offer after determining it did not have enough information regarding the positions of federal antitrust regulators and defense officials to take a position on the Northrop bid. Newport News and General Dynamics announced plans to combine in April. Northrop countered with its own offer for Newport News in May. Though structured differently, Northrop's offer is about equal to that of General Dynamics. - (Reuters)