Container Ships Off Long Beach

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Number6
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Container Ships Off Long Beach

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For the last couple of months, we've seen reports on the news about the large number of container ships off the coast of Long Beach waiting to be unloaded. At one time there were over 60 ships anchored off Long Beach. Looking at Marine Traffic, that number is down to 44 with around 25 docked and hopefully being offloaded.

The Navy is opening its base Port Hueneme, about 75 miles north of Long Beach to allow container ships to use their 1,000 foot wharf, four acres and a 21-acre industrial land to support loading, off-loading and storing of cargo. The Navy signed an agreement in 2002 with the Oxnard Harbor District to allow the district to use their wharf for offloading cargo provided it doesn't interfere with Naval operations.
With Southern California seaports overburdened by commercial ships and pandemic and supply-driven delays in moving cargo, the Navy agreed to allow cargo-carrying vessels to use one of its military wharves at Port Hueneme, Calif.

Port Hueneme is the only deep-water port sited between San Francisco and Los Angeles that can support the heavy, large commercial vessels with deep drafts that require deeper channels and harbors to take on or offload their cargo.

The Navy’s Nov. 4 decision activated a 2002 “joint use agreement” between the Navy and the Oxnard Harbor District that allows commercial use of the 1,000-foot Wharf 3, an adjoining four acres and a 21-acre industrial land to support loading, off-loading and storing of cargo, providing it doesn’t interfere with the military’s operations. The 40-page agreement has been modified twice with congressional support.

While the joint-use agreement gives access for ships to berth and cargo, including containers and vehicles, and to be offloaded and stored for follow-on transportation, it doesn’t mean sailors and base workers are jumping in to help with transportation and logistics.
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Libertas
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Re: Container Ships Off Long Beach

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Good
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ZoWie
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Re: Container Ships Off Long Beach

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Yeah, that wharf can support heavy duty military logistics and it can move a lot of cargo. Like you say, it's jointly used by the Navy and the Oxnard Harbor District. Navy Base Hueneme at least used to have major Seabees operations.
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sam lefthand
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Re: Container Ships Off Long Beach

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The report is written to make it sound like it is more than it really is. This 1.000 foot wharf amounts to an expansion of one fifth to what the commercial port there already is. They have four small commercial wharf's in use already. About half are cars from Japan and the other half is small coast wise self loading container ships, small and slow.

This one wharf which is being added is the least practical insofar as being able to effectively handle container fright. Its set up to be a RoRo dock for military tanks and trucks. It's awkward for containers, no big cranes along the wharf. They probably are going to only use it increase the number of self loading and unloading vessels going thorough there by about one third.

Freight to and from Mexico and South America, and up our coast into Canadian waters. That kind of vessel usually makes 3 and 4 day stops, the movement of containers on and off is slow when compared to the big ocean terminals with the big cranes, which can off load a big ship in one day, smaller ships in 12 hours.

Despite the press coverage I would think the difference will be almost not noticeable. It won't increase the throughput of containers from Asia at all.

The big trans Pacific ships the major shippers use now days can't go in there.
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ZoWie
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Re: Container Ships Off Long Beach

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I was going to ask whether Port Hueneme had container capability. You answered me first. Last time I was actually there, many years ago, they didn't and so I was wondering. Indeed I am unclear on military use of stacked containers. That seems to be more a commercial thing.
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Number6
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Re: Container Ships Off Long Beach

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Port Hueneme can handle 1,500 containers compared to the ports around L.A. which can handle 9,000 containers. Port Hueneme isn't going to clear the backlog of ships but it can help. Some of the car vehicle ships called ROR (Roll-on, Roll-off) use Port Hueneme and some cargo, like tractors, are being placed on ROROs.
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sam lefthand
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Re: Container Ships Off Long Beach

Post by sam lefthand »

ZoWie wrote: Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:16 am I was going to ask whether Port Hueneme had container capability. You answered me first. Last time I was actually there, many years ago, they didn't and so I was wondering. Indeed I am unclear on military use of stacked containers. That seems to be more a commercial thing.
It is mostly a commercial thing, but the military uses them too. The military likes the short ones the best because they can be handled with equipment on the ground that they already have, as well as they can be maneuvered on and off of RoRo ships easily.

The military, the Army and Marines, like the empty containers after they empty them out to fill with dirt to make breastworks to absorb enemy small arms fire.

:D

It make them into Holy Containers.
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