Ships are piling up outside Los Angeles and other major US ports as American as companies try to restock warehouses and consumers — lacking travel and other entertainment options during the pandemic — buy more products for their homes. A record 38 container ships are awaiting berth space — 36 at anchor and two more that were directed to wait in designated areas at sea until anchorages are available according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California. The wait for these vessels appear to range from several days to nearly two week and more than a dozen container carriers are scheduled to turn up in the next three days. On top of the sheer volume of the loaded vessels, port authorities along the entire west coast are facing another round of inclement weather. Earlier this week strong winds and 5.2-metre swells prompted several vessels to hoist anchor and seek safety away from shore. Lines are reportedly cancelling sailings in an effort to restore schedule integrity and some are refusing US agricultural exports in its peak season in an effort to get empty containers back to China.
