The number of containerships that are spread across the Pacific shoreline waiting to berth up at Los Angeles and Long Beach is more than 100.
More specifically, 101 containerships are spread out across 1,000 miles of North American coastline, waiting for space at America’s twin top gateways.
During November, th US asked ships to idle some 150 miles from the coastline. This new process aims to improve safety and air quality off of Southern California while also “dramatically reducing” the number of backlogged ships at anchor close to shore near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
It was developed by a working group of maritime industry stakeholders including Pacific Maritime Association, Pacific Merchant Marine Shipping Association and Marine Exchange of Southern California, a Coast Guard affiliated organization that manages vessel traffic services (VTS) for the region, as well as others.
As a result, 30 ships are anchored inside Southern California waters, while another 71 are slow-speed-steaming outside the designated safety and air quality area.
What is more, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced that the planned container excess dwell fee will be put on hold for another week. The fine was first introduced in October but has yet to be applied.
