The megaship MSC Sola waits to be off loaded at berth 25 at the Ports of America at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group) ( Laura A. Oda )
With a bitter battle over a dockworkers’ contract tentatively resolved, West Coast ports and their terminal operators are back dealing with an even bigger challenge — the mega-ship.
Bulked up like weightlifters on steroids, the new container vessels have set off a competitive scramble by the ports, which are dredging new channels, buying equipment and planning vast additions to warehouse space to accommodate the mega-ships, with the price tag for improvements running into billions of dollars.
“There are monsters out there, and unless we learn how to deal with these monsters, we’re going to lose business and tremendously affect the economies of the ports and the regions around them,” said Jock O’Connell, international trade adviser for Beacon Economics.
Phillip Sanfield, spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles, said the terminals were built to handle smaller ships.