Port of Los Angeles
Encyclopedia
The Port of Los Angeles, also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT L.A, is a port complex that occupies 7500 acre (3,035.1 ha) of land and water along 43 mi (69.2 km) of waterfront. The port is located on San Pedro Bay
in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles
, approximately 20 mi (32.2 km) south of downtown
. The Port of Los Angeles adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach
, employs over 16,000 people, and is the busiest container
port in the United States
. For public safety, the Port of Los Angeles utilizes the Los Angeles Port Police
to fight crime and terrorism, and the Los Angeles City Lifeguards to provide lifeguarding services for inner Cabrillo Beach.
In 1542, Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo discovered the "Bay of Smokes". The south-facing San Pedro Bay was originally a shallow mudflat
, too soft to support a wharf
. Visiting ships had two choices: stay far out at anchor and have their goods and passengers ferried to shore; or beach themselves. That sticky process is described in Two Years Before the Mast
by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
, who was a crew member on an 1834 voyage that visited San Pedro Bay. Phineas Banning
greatly improved shipping when he dredge
d the channel to Wilmington in 1871 to a depth of 10 feet (3 m). The port handled 50,000 tons of shipping that year. Banning owned a stagecoach line with routes connecting San Pedro to Salt Lake City, Utah
and to Yuma, Arizona
, and in 1868 he built a railroad to connect San Pedro Bay to Los Angeles, the first in the area.
After Banning's death in 1885 his sons pursued their interests in promoting the port, which handled 500,000 tons of shipping in that year. The Southern Pacific Railroad
and Collis P. Huntington
wanted to create Port Los Angeles at Santa Monica, and built the Long Wharf there in 1893. However the Los Angeles Times
publisher Harrison Gray Otis and U.S. Senator Stephen White
pushed for federal support of the Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro Bay. The Free Harbor Fight
was settled when San Pedro was endorsed in 1897 by a commission headed by Rear Admiral John C. Walker
(who later went to become the chair of the Isthmian Canal Commission
in 1904). With U.S government support breakwater
construction began in 1899 and the area was annexed to Los Angeles in 1909. The Los Angeles Harbor Commission was founded in 1907.
In 1912 the Southern Pacific Railroad
completed its first major wharf at the port. During the 1920s, the port passed San Francisco
as the west coast's busiest seaport. In the early 1930s a massive expansion of the port was taken with the construction of a massive breakwater three miles out that was over 2 miles in length. In addition to the construction of this outer breakwater an inner breakwater was built off of Terminal Island with docks for sea going ships and smaller docks built at Long Beach. It was this improved harbor that hosted the sailing
events for the 1932 Summer Olympics
. During World War II
the port was primarily used for shipbuilding, employing more than 90,000 people. In 1959, Matson Navigation Company
's Hawaiian Merchant delivered 20 containers to the port, beginning the shift to containerization
at the port. The opening of the Vincent Thomas Bridge
in 1963 greatly improved access to Terminal Island
and allowed to increased traffic and further expansion of the port. In 1985, the port handled one million containers in a year for the first time. In 2000, The Pier 400 Dredging and Landfill Program, the largest such project in America, was completed.
The port district is an independent, self-supporting department of the government of the City of Los Angeles. The Port is under the control of a five-member Board of Harbor Commissioners appointed by the Mayor
and approved by the City Council, and is administered by an executive director.
volume was in calendar year 2010. The Port is the busiest port in the United States
by container volume, the 16th busiest container port in the world and the 6th busiest internationally when combined with the neighboring Port of Long Beach
. The top trading partners in 2010 were
The most imported types of goods in calendar year 2010 were, in order: furniture; footwear; toys; automobile parts; and women's and infant apparel.
During the 2002 West Coast port labor lockout, the Port had a large backlog of ships waiting to be unloaded at any given time. Many analysts believe that the Port's traffic may have exceeded its physical capacity as well as the capacity of local freeway and railroad systems. The chronic congestion at the Port is beginning to cause ripple effects throughout the American economy and is disrupting Just In Time inventory practices at many companies.
The port is served by the Pacific Harbor Line
(PHL) railroad. From the PHL the intermodal railroad cars go north to Los Angeles via the Alameda Corridor
.
There are plans to deepen the port to 50 feet, which is about deep enough to accommodate the draft of the world's biggest container ships such as the PS-class
Emma Mærsk
and the future Maersk Triple E class
.
Located in the San Pedro District beneath the Vincent Thomas Bridge
, The Port of Los Angeles hosts superb recreational transportation with the largest cruise ship terminal on the West Coast of the United States
. The newly renovated World Cruise Center supports three passenger ship berths transporting over 1 million passengers annually. It is claimed to be "the nation's most secure cruise passenger complex". Its vast 2560 space long term parking lot is patrolled continuously by port security. Courtesy shuttles transport passengers with their luggage between the parking lot and the terminal complex on arrival and departure days. The World Cruise Center accommodates a wide variety of transportation, including Rental Car, Tour Bus, Limousine and Taxi services. The World Cruise Center is linked to attractions Ports O' Call and the Maritime Museum by a new pedestrian esplanade featuring public art and fountains as well as connections to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
and other San Pedro attractions when using the Waterfront Red Car trolley/shuttle.
The Queen Mary 2 is the largest cruise ship ever to sail from Los Angeles.
. Container ships burning low-quality bunker fuel idle dockside because most have no capability to connect to shore-generated electricity. Diesel-powered semi-trailer truck
s and locomotive
s idle while waiting to be loaded and unloaded. Truck, ship, and rail pollution coming from the ports were the largest source of air pollution in Southern California in 2006. The local air quality regulatory agency did a study that found that air pollution from the port is responsible for 2,000 cases of cancer
per million people (25 per million is the upper limit sought by regulators). The 47 tons of nitrogen oxides generated daily by port marine vessels nearly equals the amount emitted by the 350 largest factories
and refineries
in the region, and that number is expected to increase 70% by 2022.
A $2.8 million Port of Los Angeles Clean Air Program (POLACAP) initiative was implemented by the Board of Harbor Commissioners in October 2002 for terminal and ship operations programs targeted at reducing polluting emissions from vessels and cargo handling equipment.
To accelerate implementation of emission reductions through the utilization of new and cleaner-burning equipment, the Port has allocated more than $52 million in additional funding for the POLACAP through 2008.
The port installed the first Alternate Marine Power in 2004, and can provide up to 40 MW
of grid power to two cruise ships simultaneously at both 6.6 kV
and 11 kV, as well as three container terminals, reducing pollution from ship engines.
San Pedro Bay (California)
San Pedro Bay is an inlet on the Pacific Ocean coast of southern California, United States. It is the site of the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, which together form the fifth-busiest port facility in the world and easily the busiest in the Western Hemisphere...
in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, approximately 20 mi (32.2 km) south of downtown
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
. The Port of Los Angeles adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach
Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as Long Beach’s Harbor Department, is the 2nd busiest container port in the USA. It adjoins the separate Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for U.S.-Asian trade, the port occupies of land with of waterfront in the city of Long Beach, California...
, employs over 16,000 people, and is the busiest container
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
port in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. For public safety, the Port of Los Angeles utilizes the Los Angeles Port Police
Los Angeles Port Police
The Los Angeles Port Police is a specialized law enforcement agency at the Port of Los Angeles, under the control of the Los Angeles Harbor Department .-See also:* List of law enforcement agencies in California-External links:* *...
to fight crime and terrorism, and the Los Angeles City Lifeguards to provide lifeguarding services for inner Cabrillo Beach.
History
Mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...
, too soft to support a wharf
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
. Visiting ships had two choices: stay far out at anchor and have their goods and passengers ferried to shore; or beach themselves. That sticky process is described in Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast is a book by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834. A film adaptation under the same name was released in 1946.- Background :...
by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Richard Henry Dana Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, a descendant of an eminent colonial family who gained renown as the author of the American classic, the memoir Two Years Before the Mast...
, who was a crew member on an 1834 voyage that visited San Pedro Bay. Phineas Banning
Phineas Banning
Phineas Banning was an American businessman, financier, and entrepreneur.Known as "The Father of the Port of Los Angeles," he was one of the founders of the town of Wilmington, which was named for his birthplace...
greatly improved shipping when he dredge
Dredge
Dredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location...
d the channel to Wilmington in 1871 to a depth of 10 feet (3 m). The port handled 50,000 tons of shipping that year. Banning owned a stagecoach line with routes connecting San Pedro to Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
and to Yuma, Arizona
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
, and in 1868 he built a railroad to connect San Pedro Bay to Los Angeles, the first in the area.
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
and Collis P. Huntington
Collis P. Huntington
Collis Potter Huntington was one of the Big Four of western railroading who built the Central Pacific Railroad as part of the first U.S. transcontinental railroad...
wanted to create Port Los Angeles at Santa Monica, and built the Long Wharf there in 1893. However the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
publisher Harrison Gray Otis and U.S. Senator Stephen White
Stephen White
Stephen White may refer to:* Stephen K. White, American political theorist at the University of Virginia* Stephen M. White , U.S. Senator from California* Stephen V. White , U.S. congressman from New York...
pushed for federal support of the Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro Bay. The Free Harbor Fight
Free Harbor Fight
Free Harbor Fight refers to the legal battle in the late nineteenth century on the West Coast of the United States, around the case Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce vs. Huntington and the Southern Pacific....
was settled when San Pedro was endorsed in 1897 by a commission headed by Rear Admiral John C. Walker
John C. Walker
John C. Walker was a physician and prominent Democrat political figure in Indianapolis, Indiana during the American Civil War. In 1861, he was commissioned Colonel in command of the 35th Regiment Indiana Infantry . Disagreements with his superiors, including Governor Morton, led to his removal...
(who later went to become the chair of the Isthmian Canal Commission
Isthmian Canal Commission
The Isthmian Canal Commission was an American administration commission set up to oversee the construction of the Panama Canal in the early years of American involvement. Established in 1904, it was given control of the Panama Canal Zone over which the United States exercised sovereignty...
in 1904). With U.S government support breakwater
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
construction began in 1899 and the area was annexed to Los Angeles in 1909. The Los Angeles Harbor Commission was founded in 1907.
In 1912 the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
completed its first major wharf at the port. During the 1920s, the port passed San Francisco
Port of San Francisco
The Port of San Francisco lies on the western edge of the San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate. It has been called one of the three great natural harbors in the world, but it took two long centuries for navigators from Spain and England to find the anchorage originally called Yerba Buena...
as the west coast's busiest seaport. In the early 1930s a massive expansion of the port was taken with the construction of a massive breakwater three miles out that was over 2 miles in length. In addition to the construction of this outer breakwater an inner breakwater was built off of Terminal Island with docks for sea going ships and smaller docks built at Long Beach. It was this improved harbor that hosted the sailing
Sailing at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Sailing/Yachting is a Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad . With the exception of 1904 and possible 1916 sailing was always a part of the Olympic program....
events for the 1932 Summer Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the port was primarily used for shipbuilding, employing more than 90,000 people. In 1959, Matson Navigation Company
Matson Navigation Company
The Matson Navigation Company, a subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, is a private shipping company with roots extending into the late 19th century...
's Hawaiian Merchant delivered 20 containers to the port, beginning the shift to containerization
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
at the port. The opening of the Vincent Thomas Bridge
Vincent Thomas Bridge
The Vincent Thomas Bridge is a long suspension bridge, opened in 1963, crossing the Los Angeles Harbor in the U.S. state of California, linking San Pedro, Los Angeles, with Terminal Island. The bridge is signed as part of State Route 47. It is named for California Assemblyman Vincent Thomas of San...
in 1963 greatly improved access to Terminal Island
Terminal Island
Terminal Island is an island located in Los Angeles County, California between Los Angeles Harbor and Long Beach Harbor. Originally a mudflat known to the Spanish as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, and later called Rattlesnake Island, it has officially been Terminal Island since 1918...
and allowed to increased traffic and further expansion of the port. In 1985, the port handled one million containers in a year for the first time. In 2000, The Pier 400 Dredging and Landfill Program, the largest such project in America, was completed.
Port district
Mayor of Los Angeles, California
The mayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive officer of the city. He is elected for a four-year term and limited to serving no more than two terms. Under the California Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan...
and approved by the City Council, and is administered by an executive director.
Shipping
The containerContainerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
volume was in calendar year 2010. The Port is the busiest port in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by container volume, the 16th busiest container port in the world and the 6th busiest internationally when combined with the neighboring Port of Long Beach
Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as Long Beach’s Harbor Department, is the 2nd busiest container port in the USA. It adjoins the separate Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for U.S.-Asian trade, the port occupies of land with of waterfront in the city of Long Beach, California...
. The top trading partners in 2010 were
- China ($120.7 billion)
- Japan ($35.3 billion)
- Taiwan ($10.7 billion)
- South Korea ($10.1 billion)
- Thailand ($7.2 billion)
The most imported types of goods in calendar year 2010 were, in order: furniture; footwear; toys; automobile parts; and women's and infant apparel.
During the 2002 West Coast port labor lockout, the Port had a large backlog of ships waiting to be unloaded at any given time. Many analysts believe that the Port's traffic may have exceeded its physical capacity as well as the capacity of local freeway and railroad systems. The chronic congestion at the Port is beginning to cause ripple effects throughout the American economy and is disrupting Just In Time inventory practices at many companies.
The port is served by the Pacific Harbor Line
Pacific Harbor Line
The Pacific Harbor Line was formed in 1998 to take over the Harbor Belt Line . In 1998, the Alameda Corridor was nearing completion, allowing a massive amount of railroad traffic from the largest harbors in the Western hemisphere: Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach.The railroad has 18...
(PHL) railroad. From the PHL the intermodal railroad cars go north to Los Angeles via the Alameda Corridor
Alameda Corridor
The Alameda Corridor is a 20 mile freight rail "expressway" owned by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority , connecting the national rail system near downtown Los Angeles, California to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, running parallel to Alameda Street...
.
There are plans to deepen the port to 50 feet, which is about deep enough to accommodate the draft of the world's biggest container ships such as the PS-class
Mærsk E-class
The Maersk E Series comprises eight 14,770 twenty-foot equivalent unit container ships. Each sister ship bear names beginning with the letter "E", tie for the largest container ship ever constructed, and are the longest ships currently in use at 397 metres long and 56 metres wide. They are owned...
Emma Mærsk
Emma Mærsk
Emma Mærsk is the first container ship in the E-class of eight owned by the A. P. Moller-Maersk Group. When she was launched in 2006, Emma Mærsk was the largest container ship ever built...
and the future Maersk Triple E class
Maersk Triple E class
The Maersk Triple E class is a planned family of large, fuel-efficient container ships, designed as a successor to the Mærsk E-class. In February 2011, Maersk awarded Daewoo Shipbuilding a US$1.9 billion contract to build twenty of the ships....
.
World Cruise Center
Vincent Thomas Bridge
The Vincent Thomas Bridge is a long suspension bridge, opened in 1963, crossing the Los Angeles Harbor in the U.S. state of California, linking San Pedro, Los Angeles, with Terminal Island. The bridge is signed as part of State Route 47. It is named for California Assemblyman Vincent Thomas of San...
, The Port of Los Angeles hosts superb recreational transportation with the largest cruise ship terminal on the West Coast of the United States
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
. The newly renovated World Cruise Center supports three passenger ship berths transporting over 1 million passengers annually. It is claimed to be "the nation's most secure cruise passenger complex". Its vast 2560 space long term parking lot is patrolled continuously by port security. Courtesy shuttles transport passengers with their luggage between the parking lot and the terminal complex on arrival and departure days. The World Cruise Center accommodates a wide variety of transportation, including Rental Car, Tour Bus, Limousine and Taxi services. The World Cruise Center is linked to attractions Ports O' Call and the Maritime Museum by a new pedestrian esplanade featuring public art and fountains as well as connections to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is an aquarium in San Pedro, California, United States, a community within Los Angeles. It concentrates on the marine life of Southern California...
and other San Pedro attractions when using the Waterfront Red Car trolley/shuttle.
The Queen Mary 2 is the largest cruise ship ever to sail from Los Angeles.
Environment
That shipping volume comes with a cost: air pollutionAir pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
. Container ships burning low-quality bunker fuel idle dockside because most have no capability to connect to shore-generated electricity. Diesel-powered semi-trailer truck
Semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
s and locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s idle while waiting to be loaded and unloaded. Truck, ship, and rail pollution coming from the ports were the largest source of air pollution in Southern California in 2006. The local air quality regulatory agency did a study that found that air pollution from the port is responsible for 2,000 cases of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
per million people (25 per million is the upper limit sought by regulators). The 47 tons of nitrogen oxides generated daily by port marine vessels nearly equals the amount emitted by the 350 largest factories
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
and refineries
Refinery
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.-Types of refineries:Different types of refineries are as follows:...
in the region, and that number is expected to increase 70% by 2022.
A $2.8 million Port of Los Angeles Clean Air Program (POLACAP) initiative was implemented by the Board of Harbor Commissioners in October 2002 for terminal and ship operations programs targeted at reducing polluting emissions from vessels and cargo handling equipment.
To accelerate implementation of emission reductions through the utilization of new and cleaner-burning equipment, the Port has allocated more than $52 million in additional funding for the POLACAP through 2008.
The port installed the first Alternate Marine Power in 2004, and can provide up to 40 MW
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
of grid power to two cruise ships simultaneously at both 6.6 kV
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
and 11 kV, as well as three container terminals, reducing pollution from ship engines.
See also
- Kenneth HahnKenneth HahnKenneth "Kenny" Hahn was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for forty years, from 1952 to 1992. Hahn was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1947 to 1952. He was an ardent supporter of civil rights throughout the 1960s, and met Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1961.-Biography:Hahn...
, youngest pilot in the history of the Port
External links
- Panoramic photographs of Los Angeles Harbor, taken in 1908 and 1926, The Bancroft Library