Marine Exchange of Southern California Reports "Banner Year" for Southern California Ports in 2006

The Marine Exchange of Southern California -- a nonprofit mutual benefit trade organization that monitors, facilitates, and reports on all vessel traffic statistics for the four major ports in Southern California (and which also runs the Vessel Traffic Service [VTS] in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard for LA/LB Harbor) -- has recorded an overall increase in arrivals for commercial vessels calling into the LA/LB Harbor complex during 2006. Likewise, the Marine Exchange provides vessel arrival statistics for the two outlying ports (Port of Hueneme and Port of San Diego), and the offshore moorings at El Segundo in Santa Monica Bay.

Two Years Ago, the Marine Exchange had recorded 5,727 arrivals during calendar year 2004 for the Los Angeles /Long Beach Harbor complex …quot; which represented a 1% increase over the 2003 total of 5,697. That slight gain in vessel arrivals came in spite of having experienced one of the worst “congestion periods” in recent times -- with more than 125 vessels diverted from LA/LB Harbor during the worst of the congestion period in 2004.

Last Year the Marine Exchange recorded 5,785 arrivals during calendar year 2005 for LA/LB Harbor, which represented a 1% increase over the 2004 totals. We had hoped for a bigger gain on those numbers, but there were some definite “after-effects” that lingered long into 2005 from the unfortunate vessel traffic congestions we suffered in 2004. While we basically had NO CONGESTION for ship traffic at LA/LB Harbor in 2005 (and continually reported that to all interested parties), there was nonetheless an ongoing “congestion myth” (perpetrated by some of the media) that simply would not go away until nearly the fourth quarter. This, we believe, contributed to the diversion of ships and cargoes away from LA/LB Harbor in 2005 for reasons that did not exist.

Reporting for calendar year 2006, we can truly say we’ve had a “banner year” for total arrivals at LA/LB Harbor, reaching new levels that we’ve not seen for over 15 years now. The total arrivals for LA/LB Harbor were 6,087 …quot; representing a 5% increase in arrivals over the previous year! Leading the gains in 2006 at LA/LB Harbor were: General Cargo Ships …quot; up 27% (down 4% in 2005); Vehicle Carriers …quot; up 24% (up 3% in 2005); Bunker Only Calls …quot; up 9% (up 32% in 2005); Tankers …quot; up 5% (up 9% for 2005); Ro/Ro …quot; up 6% (up 44% in 2005); Dry Bulk …quot; up 17% (up 8% in 2005); Container Ships …quot; up 8% (down 4% in 2005).

Regarding the total container counts, LA/LB Harbor handled 15.8 million “TEU’s” (twenty-foot equivalents) in 2006 - an increase of 11% over 2005. That puts LA/LB Harbor firmly at the #5 ranking for container ports world-wide -- with Singapore (24.8 Million TEU’s), Hong Kong (23.4 million TEU’s), Shanghai (21.7 million TEU’s) , and Shenzhen (18.5 million TEU’s) holding the top four slots.

On the down side for LA/LB Harbor, the losses were: Reefer Ships - down 81%, reflecting (for the most part) ships and cargoes now going to the Ports of San Diego and Hueneme; ITB’s were down by 31% (they were up by 7% last year); and there was also a significant drop in vessel calls for “stores and repairs” this past year. However, in spite of these losses, the gains greatly outweighed those numbers, as reflected in the total number of arrivals.

In comparing the two mega ports, the Port of Los Angeles recorded 2,820 arrivals for 2006 (up 13% over 2005); while 3,214 arrivals were logged for the Port of Long Beach in 2006 (down 2% over 2005) -- (NOTE: the POLB arrivals include 296 vessels that went to inside anchorages on the Long Beach side of LA/LB Harbor for various reasons, and not necessarily working cargo; there are NO inside anchorages available on the Los Angeles side of LA/LB Harbor). We also recorded 53 additional vessels arriving within our “AOR”, which went to outside anchorages, and which were not designated to call at either port. Last year we added the “AOR” category for LA/LB Harbor to account more specifically for ships that arrive for reasons other than commercial cargo operations -- such as personnel changes, awaiting further orders, inspections, etc. Also, we do not account for the ships that “shift” between POLB and POLA, whereas the two ports will record those moves as “arrivals”.

For the Port of Hueneme and the Port of San Diego (and the offshore moorings at El Segundo, in Santa Monica Bay) -- two flourished with new ship counts recorded in 2006, while one saw a slight decrease in arrivals. Port Hueneme’s ship counts dropped to 413 arrivals in 2006 (compared to 435 in 2005, a 5% decline) -- representing the shift of some cargoes to San Diego, and a cutback in citrus exports from the region. The El Segundo offshore moorings saw an increase of 13% to a new total of 305 arrivals for 2006 (compared to 269 in 2005) …quot; representing increased lightering traffic from the PAL operations. And the Port of San Diego recorded a 2% gain by logging an increase in arrivals to 639 for 2006 (as compared to 627 in 2005). San Diego has captured substantial new Cruise Line business, as well as significant increases in the refrigerated cargo trade, auto imports, fertilizers, special project cargoes, and newsprint. See attached reports for more details on these statistics. We fully expect to see ongoing increases for these three ports in 2007.

This has been an interesting year for ship arrivals to say the least. The “congestion myth” at LA/LB Harbor FINALLY “went away for good” and the ship traffic has come back with a vengeance. As it seems to do from year to year, the approximate fifty percent of arrivals of vessels at LA/LB Harbor that are not containerships continually changes complexion, but has generally been on the increase in several categories.

We are optimistic as to what 2007 will bring. Based on the activity for January it already appears that vessel arrivals at LA/LB Harbor are running above normal (averaging nearly 17 arrivals per day - including a few days with 25+ arrivals). Containerships are still holding at the 51% margin -- and amongst those numbers are numerous “mega-ships” of 8,700 + TEU capacity. It is too early to predict the vessel traffic flow long-term, and it may take another month or so before all the issues related to the flow of intermodal cargos are sorted out. Overall, there is no reason to believe that arrivals will decline in the near future, but rather, that we will continue to see a gradual increase in our annual ship counts, given the trends we’re seeing now for international trade patterns. In fact, most reports indicate that carriers and shippers are once again seeking LA/LB Harbor to be their principal gateway for Pacific Rim containerized cargoes.

It has been a busy and complex year for our Vessel Traffic Specialists and our Maritime Information Staff. In 2006 we facilitated, monitored, logged and archived over 27,000 transits of our Area of Responsibility (AOR). As always, we stand ready to respond to those extraordinary situations, if and when they may arise. It continues to be our intent, and our pleasure, to deliver the maritime community the best information available - reliably, timely, and accurately. Indeed, we want to retain the respect and confidence you have in our being the trusted “maritime information clearinghouse” (and the “honest broker”) in disseminating that information fairly and without bias. For up-to-date info and reports, 24 x 7, go to our web site at: http://www.mxsocal.org/MXReports.aspx

We solicit your comments and feedback on how we may be of best service to you and your colleagues within the maritime industry and waterfront business communities.

Capt. Manny Aschemeyer, Executive Director
Marine Exchange of Southern California