BDP Trendwatch: 101 ships spread across 1,000 miles waiting for berth space at LA and Long Beach; Port Klang to introduce new SOP for box inspection from January; Ningbo tightens port entry amid surging infections

101 ships spread across 1,000 miles waiting for berth space at LA and Long Beach 

Out of sight, yet growing day by day, the number of containerships straddling the Pacific shoreline waiting for berths to open up at Los Angeles and Long Beach is now in excess of 100. 

Spread out across 1,000 miles of North American coastline, stretching deep into Mexico, there are 101 boxships anchored or loitering, waiting for space at America’s twin top gateways, according to the latest data from the Marine Exchange of Southern California. The typical pre-pandemic fortnight’s passage for ships transiting from Asia to North America is now soaking up enormous capacity with some voyages taking longer than 45 days to berth. 

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Port Klang to introduce new SOP for box inspection from January 

The Port Klang Authority (PKA) has introduced a new standard operating procedure (SOP) as a guideline for detention, inspection, and release of containers by all enforcement agencies, government agencies, port authorities, and logistic industry players. 

The draft SOP was finalized in a meeting on 22 October and the new SOP will come into effect from 1 January 2022. 

Container News

 

Ningbo tightens port entry amid surging infections 

Rising coronavirus cases have forced the world’s third-largest container shipping harbor to tighten restrictions. 

Container truck drivers will be subjected to inspections of digital health documents before entering China’s Ningbo port. The changes took effect from December 12. 

Those showing red or yellow-colored codes, indicating they live in areas with a recent occurrence of new coronavirus cases, will be banned from entry. 

Lloyd’s Loading List 

 

More arctic shipping is leaving trash in its wake, scientists warn 

Following another year of stark climate impacts in the Arctic, scientists warned Tuesday of a new scourge hitting the region: marine trash. 

With the region warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, sea ice that has long blanketed the Arctic Ocean is disappearing, opening new routes to shipping. Scientists began noticing the trash bobbing in the icy water or piling up on Alaska Bering Strait-area beaches last year. 

G Captain 

Port of Long Beach ‘container dwell fee’ to remain on pause until Dec. 20 

The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles announced that consideration of the “Container Dwell Fee” would be held off another week, until Dec. 20. 

Since the fee was announced on Oct. 25, the twin ports have seen a combined decline of 47% in aging cargo on the docks. The executive directors of both ports will reassess fee implementation after another week of monitoring data. 

AJOT 

 

Tornado Alley may be moving east, placing billions in business and supply chains at risk 

The cluster of deadly storms that slammed the U.S. last weekend is the latest sign that tornado activity has waned in the Great Plains — historically known as "Tornado Alley" — while picking up in the southeastern U.S., a manufacturing-rich region that is increasingly critical to the nation's supply chain.  

"We've seen a shift, really — a decrease in the frequency in the Great Plains, which still gets a lot of tornadoes, but an increasing trend in places like Kentucky and Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri and portions of the Midwest," Victor Gensini, an associate professor and leading researcher on severe weather, told CBSN. "And this is obviously a big deal for vulnerability." 

CBS News