June 30, 2023
The Covid-induced buying spree of 2021 led to an overwhelming shipping back-up and loitering dilemma at the Ports of San Pedro Bay. Read this Ship's Log article to learn how developing a new plan optimized container ship movements across the Pacific to reduce air pollution, save fuel, and eliminate vessel congestion, all within 27 days.
October 31, 2022
The movement of marine freight has evolved over the past sixty years. Once a slow, labor-intensive process, it now consists of thousands of identical intermodal cargo containers carrying products throughout our nation. Read this Ship's Log Article to learn about the container revolution, modernizing the container terminal, and the development of using automated container terminals at our ports.
September 30, 2022
We have all heard of the diesel engine. But do we know how and when it became the world’s most popular type of engine? Read this Ship's Log article to learn about how diesel engines became the dominant engine in the maritime world, and how efforts are put in place to reduce the exhaust pollution of such engines in our ports.
Photo: Flickr by Mark Michaelis, CC-BY 2.0
July 29, 2022
In our huge, busy seaports, it is probably no surprise that safety is a top priority. But who’s in charge? Read our latest Ship's Log Article to learn about the multiple layers of safety provided by our seaports in Los Angeles and Long Beach and how notable committees provide protection by representing the varying stakeholders that use our ports' resources.
Photo: "Port of Long Beach by Don Ramey Logan.jpg from Wikimedia Commons by D Ramey Logan, CC-BY-SA 3.0"
June 24, 2022
Throughout the world, seaports are a nation’s front door to its trading neighbors. In a world where products are widely traded between nations, our ports have relied upon policies that behave like screen doors, open to breezes while keeping out only the peskiest of pests. All of that changed after 9/11. Read this Ship's Log Article to learn about the multi-faceted set of statutes and regulations created to protect the American public and the movement of goods from threats both here and abroad.
April 29, 2022
Have you ever participated in a lifeboat drill on a cruise or ship? This safety measure is one example of the many international protocols that the maritime industry put into place to provide safety for our crews, passengers, and other vessels. Read this Ship's Log Article to learn about four important international policies that secure maritime safety.
January 31, 2022
As the saying goes, "out of sight, out of mind," however, when it comes to interacting with our oceans, what is left behind makes a huge impact on our world's environment. Read this Ship's Log article to learn about the guidance put in place across our nation and world to prevent pollution to our waters from the marine supply chain.
December 15, 2021
Every ship that transports goods through our twin ports at San Pedro Bay interacts with the land behind the harbor, otherwise known as the terminal. Read this Ship's Log article to learn about the different types and sizes of terminals at our ports, how they're owned, and how they play a vital role in the movement of goods.
October 28, 2021
September 30, 2021
July 30, 2021
Also known as an elegant, tall, flying bird, it seems appropriate that the term "crane" is used for the massive, upright arching, metal machines that reside by the water, moving freight containers between the dock and adjacent ships. Learn about these ship-to-shore cranes and how they transformed the movement of goods around the world in this Ship's Log article.
June 29, 2021
Beginning in 2006 and in cooperation with one another, the two huge seaports of Los Angeles and Long Beach formed a unique partnership to improve ambient air quality in the Los Angeles air basin, called the Clean Air Action Plan. This Ship's Log Article explores what has been done over the last 15 years and what may be the next steps in improving local basin air quality as well as reducing vessel contributions to global warming.
April 30, 2021
Just as an airport needs air traffic controllers to weave arrivals and departures, so does a major seaport. For our twin Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, they are managed by the Marine Exchange of Southern California. Little known outside the ports, read this Ship's Log article to learn about why it is such a critical seaport function.
March 31, 2021
Over the past three months, our twin seaports at Long Beach & Los Angeles have hosted more vessels than normal, and there is a major increase in ships at anchor waiting for space at our docks. In this Ship's Log article, learn about why that is, to what extent COVID is a cause, and what we can expect in the near future.
February 26, 2021
In article #9, we followed the journey a mythical copier makes from China to Chicago. In this article, learn what happens after the cargo is dropped off, how a container makes its way back to China, and the congestion & disruptions that can occur in the supply chain due to COVID.
January 28, 2021
We’ve all seen the phrase, “Sorry, your item is on backorder.” Maybe you ordered an office copier and the manufacture keeps pushing the delivery date back. Check out the latest article of our Ship's Log Blog Series to take a deeper look at the logistics chain of this copier to see what happened, its path to your office, and where it fits into the larger picture of distributing goods.
November 30, 2020
Twin behemoths ply the seas near us. Both are huge, with one residing under the sea and the other bringing cargo to our shores. Click here to learn about the interaction these two have in a shared ocean space, the problem of ship strikes, and the efforts being done to protect whale populations.
October 30, 2020
Are clean air and transportation mutually exclusive? If we want clean air in Los Angeles, will it inevitably come at the cost of losing the goods movement business in our twin seaports? The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have an answer to these questions: no. Read this Ship's Log article to learn about the measures put in place to maintain clean air while supporting our operating ports.
September 28, 2020
Whether you spot a ship in the ocean from afar or you take a visit to one of LA County's two ports, you'll notice there are a lot of shapes and sizes of ships passing through our waters. Learn about the many ships of San Pedro Bay's seaports in our recent piece.
August 31, 2020
The two cheek-by-jowl mega ports in San Pedro Bay are the busiest container ports not only in the U.S. but also in North America. Handling almost 17 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers each year, they dwarf the volume of most other container ports on either coast. How did this happen historically? What is it about these ports that continue their success? The answers lie in geography, railroads, civic pride, economics, and climate.
July 31, 2020
Did you know that the two ports of Los Angeles County experience 40% of all import cargo to the United States? Due to this, they are often a reliable indicator of economic activity in the country. One question being asked these days is whether COVID-19 has affected ship traffic. Read here to learn how it is being impacted during the pandemic.
June 30, 2020
The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are ranked as the top two busiest seaports in the U.S., handling more than 40% of all containerized cargo imported to the nation. Read here to learn about how these ports have evolved as critical resources and remain competitors amid being linked side-by-side.
May 29, 2020
Shipping containers, cans, boxes. We’ve all seen them on the road and most of us vaguely understand what they are and what they do. Read this ports piece to learn more about these ubiquitous and vital elements of the world’s goods movement system.
Photo: Pavel L Photo and Video/Shutterstock.com
April 27, 2020
COVID-19 is affecting our seaports with reduced deliveries and the strange sight of anchored tankships in San Pedro and Long Beach. What’s happening you ask? Read here to learn more
Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Aidan Cooney, U.S. Coast Guard
