Shipping companies that use the Port of Hueneme scrambled for a fix Monday as U.S. Customs and Border Protection cutbacks held up cargo inspections, causing 103 paid dockworkers to sit waiting.

That change was felt Monday morning when an auto ship arrived at the port. Unloading was delayed 40 minutes because the ship got there before CBP inspectors were scheduled to start working, so dockworkers stood idle.

Company officials say paying for a few CBP workers’ overtime would cost less than paying 100 longshoremen to stand around waiting for the inspections to be completed. Port administrators estimate Monday’s delay cost the shipping company at least $5,000 in labor alone, whereas overtime for the CBP officers would likely have cost a few hundred dollars.

Shipping lines are offering to pay overtime, said Kristin Decas, executive director of the Port of Hueneme, but, “Customs has come back and said that’s against the law.”

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