US Coast Guard raised concerns over UAE port deal: document

US Senator Susan Collins released an unclassified portion of the Coast Guard document during a congressional hearing on the takeover, which has triggered a political firestorm in the United States.

The Coast Guard assessment was made during a US government review of the transaction, part of a 6.8-billion-dollar takeover of Britain's Peninsula and Orient Steam Navigation Company (P and O), which currently operates the ports, by Dubai Ports World (DPW), which is owned by the United Arab Emirates.

"There are many intelligence gaps concerning the potential for DPW or P and O assets to support terrorist operations, that precludes an overall threat assessment of the potential DPW and P and O merger," the undated document said.

"The breadth of intelligence gaps also infer potential unknown threats against a large number of potential vulnerabilities," it said.

The intelligence gaps were related to questions over the security of the two companies' port operations, the background of their employees, and foreign influence on their operations, the document said.

But a Treasury Department official told the Senate homeland security committee that the Coast Guard's concerns were addressed in a review by a panel charged with checking foreign transactions for national security concerns.

"In this case, the concerns that you're citing were addressed and resolved," said Clay Lowery, Treasury's assistant secretary for international affairs.

In addition to going through a 30-day review by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), the companies gave the Homeland Security Department a letter of assurances regarding port security, Lowery said.

Coast Guard Admiral Thomas Gilmore, the assistant commandant for marine safety, said the letter addressed the Coast Guard's concerns.

"I think as Assistant Secretary Lowery has said, any concerns we had were addressed in the assurances letter," he said.

DPW, in an effort to ease worries over its planned takeover, has announced it will request that CFIUS conduct a broader, 45-day review of the transaction.

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