Reply #4: Background info on Eller & Co.:

[seafan]

Here is some background information on Eller & Co., from an earlier thread on Sunday, Feb 12, 2006:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2454971#2455517
911 Bankers to Run SIX Major U.S. Ports—Dubai(UAE). IMPEACH NOW!!!

Eller-ITO Stevedoring Company: Some background info here.

Formerly the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, P & O Cruises is a long-standing British company with an enviable pedigree that dates back to the early 1800s. Over the years, the line has amassed a loyal following amongst both passengers and crew members and is a good source of employment for British officers and staff.

snip

P & O Cruises comes under the corporate umbrella of the P & O Group - also the parent company of P & O Ferries and the giant American-based cruise line, Princess Cruises.

http://www.navis.gr/c_lines2.htm



PLANNING CARGO GROWTH: The Port of Miami Terminal Operating Co., a container-operations company owned by shipping firms P&O Ports North America, Eller & Co. and Florida Stevedoring, plans to invest $12 million in container-moving equipment to handle increasing business at the port. "We need the equipment in order to continue to grow," said Jorge Rovirosa, general manager of the company. "We need to increase our density and handle the containers faster and more efficiently." The company, known as POMTOC, has not set a date to complete the investment, he said, but is receiving bids for the equipment.

http://miamitodaynews.com/news/050623/fyi.shtml



Eller & Co, Inc, PO Box 13133, Port Everglades, FL, 33316, USA, (tel) 305 525-3381, (fax) 305 524-2644. Transportation, Shipping, Deliveries>>Steamship Agents & Companies

http://www.yachtworld.com/byp/categories/TransportationShippingDeliveries/SteamshipAgentsCompanies_FL.html.en



ELLER CASE ON HOLD FOR NEGOTIATIONS

June 7, 2005

The various legal dust-ups involving Port Everglades stevedoring firm Eller & Co., its ex-CEO and the widow of its former owner have all been put on hold while the parties try to resolve the lawsuits outside of court.

Eller last year sued former boss Louie Wainwright Jr. and Anne Hvide, widow of its former owner, Hans Hvide, claiming they used $900,000 in company cash to pay for a romantic relationship. Wainwright has countersued for defamation, while Hvide has filed a counterclaim to get a peek at the private company's financials.

The sides agreed last week to put the five lawsuits and countersuits on hold for 60 days while they draft a settlement, said Michael Kreitzer, a Miami lawyer representing Eller. He declined to share any details of the settlement negotiations.

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:Zi5WmUBl_V0J:www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/11830665.htm+Eller+%26+Co.++Miami++Michael+Kreitzer&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1





And now, today, we read:

Washington- A company in the United Arab Emirates is poised to take over significant operations at six American ports as part of a corporate sale, leaving a country with ties to the Sept. 11 hijackers with influence over a maritime industry considered vulnerable to terrorism.

The Bush administration considers the UAE an important ally in the fight against terrorism since the suicide hijackings and is not objecting to Dubai Ports World's purchase of London- based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

snip

Critics of the proposed purchase said a port operator complicit in smuggling or terrorism could manipulate manifests and other records to frustrate Homeland Security's already limited scrutiny of shipping containers and slip contraband past U.S. Customs inspectors.

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1139748981245370.xml&coll=2



So, we have passenger cruise lines and container/cargo offloading business interests that all will be affected by this UAE purchase of control of our ports... the implications are chilling.

I wonder if this would be a good subject for 60 Minutes..... maybe the American people might be interested in this story about how * is selling off their port security to folks who are associated with financing the 911 hijackers? Will this mean that American taxpayers' money might be used to finance terr... nah, that can't happen.... could it?

Edited to add:

From the WP, Sunday, February 12, 2006 Page A17

DP World said it won approval from a secretive U.S. government panel that considers security risks of foreign companies buying or investing in American industry. The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States "thoroughly reviewed the potential transaction and concluded they had no objection," the company said in a statement.

The committee, which could have recommended that President Bush block the purchase, includes representatives from the departments of Treasury, Defense, Justice, Commerce, State and Homeland Security.

The committee action followed concerns expressed by a Miami-based company, Eller & Co., according to Eller's lawyer, Michael Kreitzer. Eller is a business partner with the British shipping giant but was not in the running to buy the ports company.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/11/AR2006021101112.html


This initial lawsuit by Eller & Co is captivating. Don't know enough about Eller & Co's connections yet to even venture a guess how this will play.

Wonder if Eller & Co. was mightily ticked off about this secret sale by *Co... Or ticked off because it wanted to have the chance to act on the deal.... this will get interesting.