CMA CGM Renews Terminal Lease at Latakia, Syria's Notorious Smuggling Port

 

The French shipping company CMA CGM has recently renewed its contract at Syria’s largest port, Latakia. According to the local media reports, the contract was due for expiry last month, but the Syrian government invited CMA CGM to renew it.

CMA CGM did not publicize the recent renewal of contract at the Port of Latakia. Its operations at the port has attracted criticism, with Syria still facing heavy economic sanctions from the EU and the US.

The Port of Latakia has been cited as a major hotspot for the smuggling of weapons for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Its harbor has also allegedly received regular shipments of stolen Ukrainian grain from Russian-occupied Crimea. The port is also a primary export hub for the stimulant drug fenetylline (captagon), an amphetamine-like substance that provides one of Syria’s few remaining sources of steady trade revenue.

The port is believed to be under the control of Maher al-Assad, brother of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, according to the Carnegie Endowment. Maher is widely considered to be a major figure in the captagon trade, and he is sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury.

CMA CGM initially signed the contract to operate Latakia’s container terminal back in 2009 for a period of ten years, renewable for five years upon mutual agreement with the Syrian government. Upon expiry of the contract in 2019, CMA CGM renewed it until October 2024.

Since last year, the Syrian Ministry of Transport has been in favor of CMA CGM renewing the contract for a third time, reported the state-run newspaper Tishreen. In addition, the Ministry noted that CMA CGM did not withdraw its investment when political and economic headwinds hit Syria.

In 2013, the Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) ceased operations at the Tartous Container Terminal (TICT) in Syria, citing the ongoing civil war in the country.

CMA CGM maintains that it strictly follows the regulations adopted by the International community and the EU on sanction against Syria. The carrier requires that for Syria-bound shipments, all parties to the bill of lading must be identified and known before booking acceptance. CMA CGM also says that it does not allow LCL (Less than Container Load) shipments to and from Syria.

CMA CGM has reportedly invested close to $50 million at the Latakia International Container Terminal (LICT). Revenue from the terminal is split, with the port authority receiving 61 percent while the operating company gets 39 percent.