News Release
FOR RELEASE - January 4, 2007
Contact: Aaron Ellis, aellis@aapa-ports.org
703-706-4714

American Association of Port Authorities
Phone: (202) 792-4033
www.aapa-ports.org

AAPA’s Port Administration & Legal Issues Seminar set for February 12-14 in Miami

The latest in port and tenant relations, property lease provisions, port insurance, risk management strategies, environmental management, human resources and employment law, and seaport security legal considerations will be featured topics Feb. 12-14 at the American Association of Port Authorities’ Port Administration and Legal Issues Seminar. The conference will take place in Miami’s Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel.

“Considering the challenges that ports have endured in just the last year—from hurricane recovery insurance claims and seaport security access restrictions to the latest case law on human resources issues such as drug and alcohol testing of employees—this seminar will touch on the most relevant issues of the day confronting Western Hemisphere seaports,” said Kurt Nagle, AAPA’s president and CEO.

The seminar’s keynote address will focus on international operations at U.S. seaports and the furor in early 2006 over the attempt by Dubai Ports World to take over seaport facility leases formerly held by P&O Ports.  John Bradley, an attorney with New York City’s Vedder, Price, Kaufman and Kammholz and counsel to P&O Ports, will make the presentation.

In the session titled, “Environmental Issues Facing Ports,” a panel of four attorneys representing ports in Houston, Portland (Ore.), Baltimore and New York City will discuss recent transactions among those ports that have environmental liability implications.  The panel will also cover critical legal developments in areas such as ballast water management and environmental enforcement of health and safety violations.

In another session later that day, a team of three panelists will dissect the legal issues arising from the Transportation Worker Identification Credential and the restrictions it portends with regard to accessing secure areas of America’s seaports.  In addition to the concerns over ensuring efficient cargo movement, the panel will also discuss how new security protocols may impact cruise ship passenger access.

The conference will conclude on Wednesday, Feb. 14, with a pair of concurrent sessions: one focusing on unique risk and exposure scenarios in an interactive audience format; and the other being an insurance procurement session presented by a pair of experts discussing the pros and cons of procuring certain types of insurance coverage for port facilities.

More information about AAPA’s Port Administration and Legal Issues Seminar is available at www.aapa-ports.org (click on the “Programs & Events” tab) or call AAPA’s Ed O’Connell at 703-684-5700.