Euro-Pacific

Euro-Pacific a foreign joint venture, appeals from the decision of the superior court that it enjoys a taxable, possessory interest in a public container terminal (hereafter, the Facility) owned and operated by the Port of Oakland. We will affirm.

Background

Alameda County’s Port of Oakland operates a number of shipping container terminals. These maritime terminal facilities include berthing areas, gantry cranes used to load or discharge cargo containers from vessels, and storage areas to store cargo containers while waiting to be loaded aboard vessels or overland transportation. Some of the terminal facilities are assigned or leased to individual shipping companies. Others, such as the Facility, are “public container facilities” and subject to use by any commercial shipping vessel. The Facility contains approximately fifty-three acres, four berths and three container cranes.

Euro-Pacific is a joint venture owning and operating containership vessels. In 1974, and again in 1976, Euro-Pacific entered into several agreements by which it established its right to use the Facility for purposes of loading and discharging cargo. The 1976 agreement has remained in effect to the…