Published Date:
02-Nov-2011
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The dockworkers' union first forced the shutdown of the SSA and TraPac marine terminals Monday because it did not want its workers endangered by refrigerated containers that had been serviced in Vietnam during March and April and could explode when they are powered up.

According to an Oct. 26 article in World Cargo News, refrigerated containers have been quarantined around the world after reports of "compressor explosions and incidents of spontaneous combustion that have resulted in at least three fatalities."

There have been no injuries so far at the Port of Oakland.

The terminals remained closed to vessel loading and unloading operations for most of the day Tuesday. TraPac reopened later in the afternoon, but SSA remained closed.

The shutdown created a backlog of ship traffic because vessels that are at dock are not being loaded or unloaded and another three that are anchored in the bay can't get in until the others have disembarked, said Bill Bartelson, area manager for the Pacific Maritime Association.

"The inability to work tomorrow will definitely impact what's already happened out there," he said.

The dockworkers' union is negotiating with the terminal operators to

Miguel Silva, president of West State Alliance, said there were a couple of hundred trucks, many hauling refrigerated containers with perishables from the Central Valley, lined up outside the TraPac terminal before it reopened at 2:15 p.m.

Those that couldn't be processed before the gates closed Tuesday will either have to wait outside the terminal or find a local yard that has a plug in for the container, Silva said.determine how to clear the suspect containers before they are loaded onto ships or sent by rail or truck to destinations throughout the country, Bartelson said. He said the negotiation concerns worker safety, and could be resolved by late Tuesday.