Ehrlich seeks to delay Arab deal on port

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Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday that he is considering legal moves to either delay or "simply void" the federally approved business deal that would give an Arab company control of operations at the Port of Baltimore.

"We are obviously very concerned about security at the port," said Mr. Ehrlich, a Republican seeking re-election this year.

New York Gov. George E. Pataki, also a Republican, made a similar threat last night, saying he was "very concerned" about the purchase, which also would cover five other ports, including New York.

"I have directed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to explore all legal options that may be available to them in regards to this transaction," he said.

In Washington, Democratic Sens. Robert Menendez and Hillary Rodham Clinton assailed the deal and said President Bush should stop it to better protect the U.S. from terrorists.

"We wouldn't turn over our customs service or our border patrol to a foreign government," said Mr. Menendez, of New Jersey. "We shouldn't turn over the ports of the United States, either."

Mr. Menendez said he and Mrs. Clinton, of New York, will introduce legislation prohibiting the sale of port operations to foreign governments.

Mr. Ehrlich said he was not necessarily opposed to the business arrangement in which state-owned Dubai Ports World (DPW) of the United Arab Emirates purchased the company that runs the cargo operations at Baltimore and five other U.S. seaports -- New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Miami and New Orleans.

However, he said Maryland needed to study the deal, and he called the state's long absence from the months-long approval process "very troubling."

"We fully understand that 12 different federal agencies have signed off on this particular deal," Mr. Ehrlich said. "Nevertheless, we are in charge of Maryland. We are in charge of the Port of Baltimore."