Ship congestion mounts at L.A. ports

Ship congestion mounts at L.A. ports    A shortage of dockworkers at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach is slowing down cargo handling and causing an offshore backlog of vessels waiting for a berth, according to the primary maritime information clearinghouse in the area.
   The Marine Exchange of Southern California predicted that 24 more vessels would arrive Tuesday on top of the 14 already anchored in port waters or at sea and that the situation would continue to worsen during the course of the week, reviving memories of the costly 2002 West Coast labor dispute that caused ships to stack up for almost 10 days after terminal managers shut out union longshoremen.
   Manny Aschemeyer, executive director of the Marine Exchange, said in a memo to waterfront users that the Pacific Maritime Association was reporting member stevedoring companies were short 15 gangs during normal Monday business hours and 27 gangs short for evening operations. On Tuesday, PMA expects at least 32 gangs will not show up for the day shift. The PMA, which handles labor issues for terminal operators and liner carriers, is not compensating for the situation by adding any pre-dawn shifts, Aschemeyer reported.
   The Marine Exchange provides a traffic service monitoring service to help vessels navigate the approach to the harbor, detailed arrival and departure information, security updates and other data about the port.
   The situation could get worse Thursday night when the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has scheduled a “stop work meeting,” meaning crews will not be available for night shifts.
   Work at the port will also slow down with the July 4 holiday and the ILWU’s negotiated July 5 holiday, with many longshoremen expected to take a long weekend from Friday through Tuesday morning, according to the memo.