UAE SELLS U.S. PORT BUSINESS ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Nearly a year after being blocked by Congress, the United Arab Emirates has shed its U.S. ports management portfolio. The UAE state-owned Dubai Ports World completed the sale of its marine management porfolio to a U.S. firm. DP said its wholly-owned subsidiary P&O Ports North America was sold to AIG Global Investment Group. "The sale fulfills the commitment made by DP World last year to sell its U.S. assets to an American buyer," DP World said. Under the deal, AIG would control marine terminal concessions in the ports of New York-New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, Tampa and New Orleans. The company would also be assigned responsibility for stevedore operations in 16 locations along the East and Gulf Coasts and a passenger terminal in New York City. Neither DP nor AIG disclosed the price of the sale. Executives said P&O would be renamed Ports America. "We cannot say we are happy to be leaving the United States, but it is good that we are over this controversy," DP World chief executive officer Mohammad Sharaf said. "We will be ready to review opportunities again there if we feel we are welcome." In 2006, DP bought P&O as part of the $6.8 billion acquisition of London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. Citing Gulf Arab ties to Al Qaida, Congress said it would block any UAE firm from operating leading U.S. ports. In March 2006, DP withdrew its bid to acquire U.S. ports management and announced a deal with AIG in December. The sale was nearly torpedoed in February 2007 when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey demanded a "departure fee" of $84 million from DP World. The Dubai firm refused and warned that it would not sell P&O. Later, AIG pledged $50 million to improve infrastructure in the New York-New Jersey port.