Marine Exchange of Southern California

It was a busy week that we finished with a record 64 ships at berths and 37 at anchor for a total of 101 this noon. Of the 101 total vessels, 53 were container ships of which 22 were at anchor and 31 were at berths discharging or loading cargo. We had no weather or fog delays this week and the marine transportation system remains safe, secure, reliable, and environmentally sound despite not operating at peak efficiency due to these uncertain and unsettled COVID-19 conditions. Great people are on watch and working throughout the weekend to move the cargo of all types to its destination whether it's a store shelf, assembly line at a factory, construction site, or wherever to keep America moving. Be safe, healthy, and well, Captain Louttitd

On this hazy first Wednesday of May, 88 total vessels are at anchor off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, of which 34 are at anchor and 54 are at berths discharging or loading cargo. Of the 88 total vessels, 47 are container ships, of which 20 are at anchor and 27 are at berths. The levels of total ships at anchor and total container ships at anchor are half of what they were in early February. Over the next 3 days, vessels arriving to anchor exceed vessels shifting... from anchor to a berth so vessels at anchor should climb a little. We are not using our Contingency Anchorages off Huntington Beach for the 3rd day in a row. Vessel arrivals, departures, and shifts around the harbor continue as scheduled, and your Marine Transportation System remains safe, secure, reliable, environmentally sound, and efficient as can be under COVID-19 conditions due to all port partners working so well together. Be safe, healthy, and well, Captain Louttit See more

On this last day of April, ships at anchor reached some new lows since before New Years during the week but ticked up again. At noon Friday, 93 vessels were inport of which 36 were at anchor and 57 were at berths. Of the 93 total, 48 were container vessels, of which 19 were at anchor and 29 were at berths discharging or loading cargo. 7 of the vessels inport are cruise ships refueling, re-provisioning, making preparations, or changing crews. The weather remains great for ...ship movements and we have not had weather delays in many days. All port partners continue to keep the Marine Transportation System flowing safely, securely, reliably, and in an environmentally sound manner as efficiently as possible under these unique, uncertain, and unsettling Covid-19 conditions. Please have Maritime Peace of Mind as all port partners are semper vigilant 7x24x365. The pictures show ships at anchor Friday afternoon and 2 container ships arriving. We never stop. Mike, Dave, and OS2 Juarbe, USCG are on watch as I type at 0045 Saturday, as most people sleep Friday night in California sleep. They will be relieved at 0530 by their mirror image, as our VTS has done for 26 years. Their reliefs are never late. It's our culture and responsibility. I'm incredibly proud them and our MX/CG Private/Public partnership. Have a great weekend, Captain Kip Louttit See more

Ship counts inport and at anchor continue at elevated levels but the wonderful collaboration of port partners continues to ensure the Marine Transportation System remains safe, secure, reliable, environmentally sound, and as efficient as possible in these uncertain and unsettled times. It was a beautiful day and all ships of all shapes, sizes, types, and functions continue to ride well at anchor in full compliance with all protocols. At noon today, the anchorages are essent...ially full and we continue to use our Huntington Contingency Anchorages... 1 container ship today. 96 total vessels are inport, 3 fewer than yesterday. Of these, 39 vessels are at anchor, 4 fewer than yesterday, and 57 are at berths discharging or loading cargo, 1 more than yesterday. Of the 96 total vessels, 47 container vessels are inport, 3 more than yesterday. Of the 47, 19 are at anchor, same as yesterday, and 28 are at berths, 3 more than yesterday. We forecast the same levels for the next 3 days, with usual variations based on timing... 10 arrivals to anchor and 5 shifts from anchor to berth may yield an overall decrease of 5, but we serve the commercial community, so it's possible the 10 arrive before any of the 5 shift, so we could have a spike up before the trend down. This is what I'm so proud of my MIS and VTS specialists for figuring out so every arriving ship has all the services and direction it needs to safely carry out its mission. It's an honor to work with such incredible public and private sector partners. Please enjoy the attached. We're on watch while most are sleep. Be safe, heathy, and well, Captain Louttit See more

On this warm April evening I can report that that we set 2 inverse records today. 43 total container ships inport is the lowest level since 11 December. Of these 43 total container ships, 19 container ships at anchor is the lowest level since 15 April and before that 21 December. The downward trend is expected to continue over the next 3 days due to 16 vessels scheduled to arrive and anchor, and 26 vessels at anchor are scheduled to shift to a berth to discharge and load c...argo. Other figures: 93 total vessels inport is 4 fewer than yesterday. Of these 93, 41 total vessels at anchor is 4 fewer than yesterday, and 52 vessels at a berth is the same as yesterday. The total of 43 container ships inport is 3 fewer than yesterday. Of the 43 total container ships, 19 are at anchor, 1 fewer than yesterday, and 24 are at berths, 2 fewer than yesterday. Your Marine Transportation System remains safe, secure, reliable, environmentally sound, and as efficient as possible under COVID-19 protocols. Please enjoy the slides and picture, with our National Ensign regretfully still at 1/2 staff until tomorrow (Tuesday) sunset due to the senseless acts of violence in Indianapolis, Indiana. Be safe, healthy, and well, Captain Kip Louttit See more

Woops... wrong slides. Here again for the 15th. Sorry! JKL We tied the record for total vessels inport today, 112, which is the sum of the 56 vessels at a berth discharging or loading cargo, 51 vessels at anchor, and 5 vessels in drift areas off Catalina, Huntington, and Newport. 22 January was the former date at this 112 vessel level for this COVID-19 related backup. 60 of the 112 vessels are container ships, of which 28 are at a berth discharging or loading cargo, 29 are at anchor, and 3 are in drift areas. 6 of the 112 vessels are 6 cruise ships with no passengers refueling, re-provisioning, changing crews, and waiting out the pandemic. Weather is great for shipping and vessels of all types are moving as scheduled. Happy Presidents' Day! Captain Louttit & the MX/CG team.

We tied the record for total vessels inport today, 112, which is the sum of the 56 vessels at a berth discharging or loading cargo, 51 vessels at anchor, and 5 vessels in drift areas off Catalina, Huntington, and Newport. 22 January was the former date at this 112 vessel level for this COVID-19 related backup. 60 of the 112 vessels are container ships, of which 28 are at a berth discharging or loading cargo, 29 are at anchor, and 3 are in drift areas. 6 of the 112 vessels are 6 cruise ships with no passengers refueling, re-provisioning, changing crews, and waiting out the pandemic. Weather is great for shipping and vessels of all types are moving as scheduled. Happy Presidents' Day! Captain Louttit & the MX/CG team.

45 vessels at anchor at noon, of which 30 were container ships, but that's not the full story today, as we have seen those levels many time before since this COVID-19 related backup started in September. 9 more vessels are inbound to anchor today, including 1 cruise ship, 2 tankers, 5 container ships and 1 refrigerated cargo ship, which will cause us to run out of anchorages and cause some fraction of theses ships to go to drift areas. I added an extra slide (#3) to show th...e parade of container ship arrivals, and amended slide #6 to show the cruise ship. Furthermore, we set heavy weather protocols at noon and extending through 10PM tonight for forecast wind 20-30 knots with gusts to 40 during that period, then tapering off but still windy through Tuesday. All port partners continue to work together to ensure the Marine Transportation System is safe, secure, reliable, environmentally sound, and as efficient as possible. If you are out on the water, vessels, or the docks, be safe and well! If you are supporting those wonderful men and women who are out in the weather, do a great job to help ensure their safety and critical cargo continues to flow to store shelves, assembly lines, and everywhere else it needs to go. Happy Valentine's Day! Captain Louttit & your MX/CG team. See more

50 vessels at anchor this noon of which 32 are container ships. The anchorages filled so as of noon today we have 2 ships in drift areas, see slides 3 and 4. Arrivals to anchor exceed shifts from anchor to berth through tomorrow, Friday, so we will be putting more ships in drift areas. The trend will reverse Saturday and Sunday and potentially get all ships back into anchorages. No worry, there's lots of ocean to drift and we work with each ship and captain to agree on a good place to drift, we monitor the ships carefully while drifting, we keep them 2 miles apart and away from shore, and the ship's engine is always ready when needed. All partners are doing a great job keeping the Marine Transportation System safe, secure, reliable, environmentally sound, and as efficient as possible. Warm regards, Captain Louttit

Fun on a Friday Afternoon. I just received this wonderful caricature from Mr. Guy Fox, wonderful friend of the Marine Exchange, President & CEO of Guy Fox Associates, and Chairman of the Board of the wonderful International Seafarers Center in Long Beach. I knew Guy was a wonderful businessman and maritime industry leader, but I didn't know he had a wonderful art talent. Thanks, Guy! v/r Kip