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Photos: Gridlock at L.A. ports as dozens of ships idle off the coast

Container ships at sea
Container ships wait to unload cargo outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Wednesday.
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
By Carolyn Cole
, Jason Armond and Allen J. Schaben

President Biden announced Wednesday that the Port of Los Angeles would operate around the clock to alleviate a logistical bottleneck that has left dozens of container ships idling off the California coast and Americans waiting longer to get products manufactured overseas.

Longshoremen will work through the night and major retailers and shipping companies have pledged to clear cargo off the docks faster, changes that are intended to speed the flow of toys, electronics and other gifts to American doorsteps during the holiday season.

“Today’s announcement has the potential to be a game changer,” Biden said as he acknowledged that people are worrying about whether everything from “toasters to sneakers to bicycles to bedroom furniture” were going to be available.

A wide-angle view of docked container ships
Container ships at the ports of Los Angeles on Wednesday.
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
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A view of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach
Container ships are unloaded at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach while other vessels wait offshore.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A container ship is seen in the foreground on the water with others in the distance
Container ships wait to unload.
(Allen J. Schaben /Los Angeles Times)
A sailboat on the water in front of a container vessel
A sailboat passes one of the container ships sitting off the coast of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Container ships at a port
Containers are unloaded from a docked ship.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Two container ships are seen offshore
Container ships wait offshore.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A truck driver checks his cargo as the Port of Los Angeles is set to begin operating around the clock.
A truck driver checks his cargo as the Port of Los Angeles is set to begin operating around the clock.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
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Cargo trucks wait in long lines to enter the port.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Cargo ships wait to enter the port on Wednesday in San Pedro,
Cargo ships wait to enter the port on Wednesday in San Pedro,
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

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Carolyn Cole

Carolyn Cole is a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times. Her coverage of the civil crisis in Liberia won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. Cole has been named U.S. newspaper photographer of the year three times. Cole grew up in California and Virginia, before attending the University of Texas, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She went on to earn a master of art’s degree from Ohio University.

Jason Armond

Jason Armond is a staff photographer at the Los Angeles Times. A native of North Carolina, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received a bachelor’s in media and journalism. His work as a photographer and videographer has been recognized by the Hearst Journalism Awards, the White House News Photographers Assn. and the North Carolina College Media Assn. As a freelance visual journalist, his work has been featured in several publications before joining The Times.

Allen J. Schaben

Los Angeles Times staff photographer Allen J. Schaben is an award-winning journalist capturing a wide range of images over the past 34 years. Before joining The Times, he honed his craft at the Detroit Free Press, Dallas Morning News, Wichita Eagle and Connecticut Post. Schaben earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993.

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