DOCKWORKERS’ UNION ILWU FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 AMID DECADE-LONG LEGAL BATTLE
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) representing U.S. dockworkers has filed for a chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to resolve a pending litigation with the Oregon affiliate of the International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI). The union has listed its assets and liabilities in the range of $1 million to $10 million. The union is facing a looming trial over allegations it illegally slowed down operations over several years at the Port of Portland, then operated by an affiliate of Philippines.
SAVANNAH WORKING THROUGH UNEXPECTED BACKLOG OF ANCHORED VESSELS
The Port of Savannah is working its way through a backlog of 16 vessels that have been stacking up in recent weeks amid a string of closures. While shippers say the situation — which could linger through mid-November — is less than ideal, many noted there has been no significant impact yet. The domino effect leading up to the delays began in late August when crane equipment arrived at Savannah’s Garden City Terminal, temporarily shutting down two berths. Arrival of the four ship-to-shore cranes required the closures of Berths 1 and 9 at the terminal so the equipment could be discharged from the specialized vessel.
OCEAN CARRIERS SELL US CHASSIS LESSOR TO PRIVATE EQUITY GROUP
A US-based coalition of 10 ocean carriers has sold its chassis lessor to private equity group Oaktree Capital Management, a transaction that could provide an immediate boost to the new South Atlantic Chassis Pool 3.0 (SACP 3.0). Terms of the deal between Oaktree and the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association (OCEMA were not disclosed. The company sold by OCEMA, known as Consolidated Chassis Management (CCM), is the sole chassis provider of SACP’s 45,000 units
FMC DISMISSES ILA’S CLAIMS OF PRICE FIXING AT SOUTHEAST PORTS
A Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) administrative law judge has sunk claims from the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) that stevedores at the ports of Savannah and Charleston engaged in price fixing, ruling the stevedores are not marine terminal operators with full power to set fees and rates for container handling. The judge’s decision dismissed a complaint the ILA brought in April 2022 that alleged Ceres Marine Terminals, Ports America and SSA Marine coordinated on rates for landing freight at Savannah and Charleston.
CALIFORNIA DRAYAGE OPERATORS SEEK HELP MEETING ZERO-EMISSION REGULATIONS
Drayage operators in California are concerned that state agencies are not doing enough to incentivize trucking companies to meet the costly mandates contained in a new regulation that requires all drayage trucks serving the state’s ports and intermodal rail yards to be zero-emission by 2035. Although that final deadline contained within the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation is 12 years away. the regulation has earlier deadlines beginning in 2025 for phasing out existing diesel trucks based on the model year of the engine and the truck’s accumulated mileage.
