Los Angeles container ships bottleneck news: bad and good
According to Master of one of the ships serving Trans-Pacific container loop, situation in Los-Angeles Long Beach waters remains tense, with no end in sight. Authorities made a right decision to push container ships from anchorage out to sea every time weather becomes nasty, after Nov 25 turmoil, brought by passing storm. There were many accidents, ships couldn’t heave up anchors, radio was bursting with frantic talks and assistance demands.
Now in winter time, LA/LB anchorage can’t be considered as safe, many ships prefer to move down south to Mexican waters, and wait for their turn to be berthed there.
One good thing is, US Authorities are praised by crews for crew-friendly policies – ships are supplied in orderly manner every time they order supplies; and most importantly, crew changes are going on smoothly, without crazy demands and “regulations”. Crew changes of the ships deployed in Trans-Pacific trade, actually, can be carried out only in USA, Asia is out of question.