Inside California’s colossal container-ship traffic jam
Over 30 container ships are anchored in San Pedro Bay off Los Angeles and Long Beach Container imports overwhelming California ports (Photo: Flickr/Ryan Stavely)
(UPDATE: New U.S. Coast Guard aerial video of container-ship traffic jam released: see link here)
In the movie “Falling Down,” the character played by Michael Douglas is stranded in a Los Angeles traffic jam. He abandons his car, starts walking with briefcase in hand and ultimately has a mental breakdown. Cargo shippers trying to get their containers through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach can relate.
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LOS ANGELES, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Members of Congress have joined state and local leaders in urging California officials to hasten COVID-19 vaccinations for workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation’s two busiest, hit hard by pandemic workforce disruptions and surging imports.
As of Wednesday, 27 arriving container ships stood anchored off the twin ports complex waiting for berths to clear at terminals piled high with cargo from previous shipments, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California.
The bottlenecks are comparable to those last seen in 2014-2015 at the height of a months-long longshore contract dispute at 29 U.S. West Coast ports, said Kip Louttit, executive director of the exchange.
Inside California’s colossal container-ship traffic jam
In the movie “Falling Down,” the character played by Michael Douglas is stranded in a Los Angeles traffic jam. He abandons his car, starts walking with briefcase in hand and ultimately has a mental breakdown. Cargo shippers trying to get their containers through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach can relate.
The pileup of container ships offshore in San Pedro Bay and the congestion onshore at the terminals have reached epic proportions.
The situation could get even more maddening in the weeks ahead.
32 container ships at anchor
American Shipper interviewed Kip Louttit, executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, to get the latest on ships in San Pedro Bay.