November 15th signifies the start of a new $100 penalty for any container that lingers, waiting for pick-up at US’s twin top maritime gateway ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
More specifically, the measure started on November 1, with rail cargo not allowed to sit at the ports for no more than three days, and truck cargo for no more than nine days before the fined begin.
After the end of the deadlines, a $100 fine per container will be assessed, with an additional $100 every day that each container remains at the port.
The new state-created fee is one of many measures the White House and US ports have implemenet recently, in order to address the extreme container crunchbacklogs that have put shipping under pressure.
Commenting on the new measure, Hapag-Lloyd informed that the new charge will be passed on to clients:
This is a port authority announced and levied charge, which, as a pass-through charge, will be for the account of the merchant
What is more, beginning November 16th, a new process for containerships bound for US’s two busiest container ports will have ships waiting at least 150 miles from shore, instead of anchorages and loitering areas closer to the coast.
The 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.
These news come as the number of container ships stuck off Southern California reached new records, as 111 had been waiting around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
