Cargo Business Newswire

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Top Story

L.A./Long Beach port heads: Backlog will take 3 months to clear

The top officials at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach said that it would take three months to clear the thousands of containers left stranded on nearly two dozen ships — the product of epic congestion exacerbated by contentious labor talks between dockworkers and management.

The ports need three months "to get back to a sense of normalcy," with the first month focused on getting caught up on the backlog, according to Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. Seroka and Long Beach Port Chief Executive Jon Slangerup participated in a panel at the recent Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference in Long Beach.

Tuesday was the first time in awhile that the number of vessels anchored at the breakwater dipped under 30 ships, Seroka said.

Photo credit: John Schreiber/mynewsLA

The Marine Exchange of Southern California said 29 backed-up vessels were anchored off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, including 20 container ships, on Tuesday.