The Port of Portland and Harbor Industrial have reached a framework agreement that will ultimately lead to Harbor becoming the long-term operator of Terminal 6, Oregon’s only international container terminal.
Currently, T6 is operated by the port and Harbor Industrial, which serves as a stevedore.
The new framework agreement establishes a timeline and basic terms that will be solidified over the next six months.
The agreement assumes the port will receive $5m in support from the state to stem ongoing losses from container operations and is contingent on receiving a $20m state investment toward capital improvements at the terminal. The governor’s recommended budget includes this capital funding, as well as funding toward the maintenance of the Columbia River navigation channel.
Additional details about the terms of the port and Harbor’s agreement will be shared when the port commission votes on a lease, which is anticipated in the summer of 2025.
Manila-headquartered International Container Terminal Services, Inc (ICTSI) originally signed a 25-year deal with Portland back in 2010, paying $4.5m a year after an initial downpayment of $8m. In 2017 it quit the port with no major clients – and considerable labour issues – at its Terminal 6 facility. A court ruled later that the local chapter of the ILWU had sabotaged shipping traffic at the terminal through years of labour slowdowns and stoppages.
