Wisdom of LA paying US$250,000 for 18,000-TEU ship visit challenged
QUESTIONS are being raised over whether the Port of Los Angeles gained anything by paying US$250,000 to bring the 18,000-TEU CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin into the port the day after Christmas.
At the time, the arrival of the largest vessel ever to dock at a US west coast port was heralded as a symbol of the future of shipping, reports LA's Daily Breeze.
Los Angeles officials say the vessel's maiden voyage turned a profit, garnered quantifiable attention for the port and validated their decision to enlarge the port to dock mega ships to bring millions of products to the city in a single voyage.
In a deal brokered by the French shipping line CMA CGM, APM Terminal Pacific LLC and the port, the terminal operators paid the carrier nearly US$500,000 to call at the Los Angeles port first by way of China. In turn, officials at the Los Angeles port agreed to cut rent for the terminal operators by $241,837.
LA port executive director Gene Seroka said handling the containership "gave us an opportunity to test how we would handle this ship. We gained a level of insight and expertise that we would never have had before."
In the end, Mr Seroka said, the port wound up turning a profit of $536,644.
The port had prepared for that day for decades, widening its turning basin, creating deeper channels and raising cranes to accommodate vessels of this size.
After the ship left Los Angeles in December, it went to Oakland, with out monetary incentive.
International trade adviser at Beacon Economics, Jock O'Connell, said bringing the Benjamin Franklin to the port of Los Angeles is one way of fighting back at the prospect of the expanded Panama Canal taking business away.
However, there is no guarantee that CMA CGM will continue to bring in more gigantic ships, Mr O'Connell said. Indeed, shortly after coming ashore, the French shipping line announced a fleet of mega ships would be making regular trips to the west coast. Then the company pulled back from those plans.
QUESTIONS are being raised over whether the Port of Los Angeles gained anything by paying US$250,000 to bring the 18,000-TEU CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin into the port the day after Christmas.
At the time, the arrival of the largest vessel ever to dock at a US west coast port was heralded as a symbol of the future of shipping, reports LA's Daily Breeze.
Los Angeles officials say the vessel's maiden voyage turned a profit, garnered quantifiable attention for the port and validated their decision to enlarge the port to dock mega ships to bring millions of products to the city in a single voyage.
In a deal brokered by the French shipping line CMA CGM, APM Terminal Pacific LLC and the port, the terminal operators paid the carrier nearly US$500,000 to call at the Los Angeles port first by way of China. In turn, officials at the Los Angeles port agreed to cut rent for the terminal operators by $241,837.
LA port executive director Gene Seroka said handling the containership "gave us an opportunity to test how we would handle this ship. We gained a level of insight and expertise that we would never have had before."
In the end, Mr Seroka said, the port wound up turning a profit of $536,644.
The port had prepared for that day for decades, widening its turning basin, creating deeper channels and raising cranes to accommodate vessels of this size.
After the ship left Los Angeles in December, it went to Oakland, with out monetary incentive.
International trade adviser at Beacon Economics, Jock O'Connell, said bringing the Benjamin Franklin to the port of Los Angeles is one way of fighting back at the prospect of the expanded Panama Canal taking business away.
However, there is no guarantee that CMA CGM will continue to bring in more gigantic ships, Mr O'Connell said. Indeed, shortly after coming ashore, the French shipping line announced a fleet of mega ships would be making regular trips to the west coast. Then the company pulled back from those plans.