London court extends injunction against Djibouti in DP World dispute

Dubai’s government said a London court had extended an injunction prohibiting a Djibouti state-owned company from interfering in the management of a port terminal seized from DP World.

The government of Djibouti seized the Doraleh Container Terminal from DP World in February over a dispute dating back to at least 2012. Dubai government-controlled DP World, which operated the terminal under a concession, has called the seizure illegal.

Dubai’s government said the High Court in London extended the August 31 injunction at DP World’s request to include any affiliate of the state-owned Port de Djibouti, which Djibouti used to nationalise the terminal.

DP World, one of the world’s largest port operators, is majority owned by the Dubai government.

The injunction, extended on September 14, states that Djibouti cannot act as if the joint venture has been terminated and that actions regarding the terminal must be taken with DP World’s consent, Dubai’s government media office said in the statement.

A DP World spokeswoman directed Reuters to the statement, which said that the goverment of Djibouti had not made any offer to compensate DP World. Djibouti’s government ports and free zones authority has previously said it was prepared to pay DP World for its shares in the terminal.

Representatives of the government of Djibouti did not attend the court hearing, the statement said. There was no comment from the authorities in Djibouti.

The government of Djibouti has said the terminal had come under “de facto” control of minority shareholder DP World and that nationalising it would “protect the fundamental interests of the nation and the legitimate interests of its partners”.

The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) has ruled that contract valid and binding, the Dubai government said on August 2.