![]() The problem has been metastasizing for months. “They probably never worked more hours and harder in their careers,” said California Assembly member Patrick O’Donnell (D), whose district includes the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. It’s happening as the union is dealing with the increasing threat to their jobs from automation, with its current collective bargaining agreement set to expire in July. Those ports are the nation’s busiest, receiving more than 17 million containers combined in 2019, more than double the volume of the Port of New York and New Jersey.Īs the system is pushed to its breaking point, driving inflation and threatening to upend the holiday business season, unionized longshoremen say they can’t unload ships any faster because a shortage of truck and railroad workers is leaving tons of cargo stranded on docks, throwing off their fragile ecosystem. supply chain meltdown, unable to meet demands by President Joe Biden to work 24 hours a day to unload massive container ships backed up in the waters off Los Angeles and Long Beach. This time, though, the union representing more than 20,000 workers who unload cargo at West Coast ports say they are squeezed in the middle of the U.S. The workers prevailed, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has been a powerful force on the docks ever since. In 1934, they embarked on an 83-day strike that plunged San Francisco into a state of anarchy and crippled the regional economy. Times staff writer Thomas Curwen contributed to this report.West Coast longshore workers have never been a timid bunch. Investigators plan to remove the cracked section of the pipeline and bring it to a lab so the NTSB metallurgy experts can determine when it was damaged and when it began leaking. Tar balls have washed up as far south as San Diego County, fouling beaches, killing wildlife and prompting a massive cleanup. Oil began rolling into Huntington Beach on Oct. In Orange County, a 13-inch tear in the pipeline caused a minimum of about 24,696 gallons and a maximum of 131,000 gallons of oil to spill into the ocean, resulting in a slick that has devastated the coast for more than a week. ![]() The crew wasn’t immediately aware of the accident. In a 2018 incident in the Great Lakes, a barge anchor slashed through three underwater cables and two pipelines, leading to an 800-gallon oil spill. Neubauer said a large vessel grappling with rough conditions may have been unaware that its anchor clipped a pipeline. The probes could lead to criminal charges and civil penalties and will probably be used in several class-action lawsuits against Amplify Energy, the oil pipeline owner, legal experts say. In addition to the Coast Guard and NTSB, the California attorney general and Orange County district attorney’s office have launched investigations into the spill. She called the idling ships “an environmental and public health crisis.” Michelle Steel (R-Seal Beach) introduced legislation seeking to ban cargo ships idling or anchoring 24 nautical miles or less off the Orange County coast. ![]() Many items destined for retailer shelves this holiday season are hopelessly snarled in the global supply chain. Shortages of everything from bicycles to electronics are expected, not to mention the hot toys of the season.īusiness A tangled supply chain means shipping delays. Tuesday morning, the traffic jam was down to 30 container ships heading to the Port of Los Angeles and 28 destined for the Port of Long Beach.Īs shoppers and retailers gear up for the holidays, pressure on the ports is likely to intensify. Until 2020, it was typical for only one container ship to be anchored offshore. 19, a record 73 container ships and 97 ships of all types were anchored waiting to enter the ports - some in a “drift area” used for overflow traffic. The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are among the busiest in the country. Another collision, or possibly a geological event, could have either “increased the fracture or caused the whole thing,” Neubauer said. The investigators are focusing primarily on ship traffic at the Port of Long Beach but are also looking at Los Angeles.Īn initial ship strike may have moved the pipeline without breaking it. ![]() Jason Neubauer said no vessels have been completely ruled out. California Massive oil spill sends crude onto Orange County beaches, killing birds, marine lifeĪn oil slick believed to have originated from a pipeline leak has hit Huntington Beach, closing a stretch of beach and raising grave wildlife and environmental concerns. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |