--- title: "Satellite Images Show Massive Armada Of Idle Cargo Ships Waiting To Dock In Long Beach" description: "The huge logjam of maritime cargo traffic trying to unload cargo in Long Beach harbor has reached epic proportions as seen in these satellite images." date: "2021-10-04" modified: "2021-10-04" authors: - name: "Tyler Rogoway" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/tyler-rogoway" url: "https://www.twz.com/42612/satellite-images-show-massive-armada-of-idle-cargo-ships-waiting-to-dock-in-long-beach" categories: - "Americas" - "Around The Globe" - "News & Features" - "Satellite Imagery" - "U.S. Homeland" tags: - "backlog" - "beta oilfield" - "Cargo" - "Elly" - "Harbor" - "Huntington Beach Air show" - "logistics" - "Long Beach" - "oil spill" - "port of long beach" - "shipping" - "SOCAL" - "supply chain" --- # Satellite Images Show Massive Armada Of Idle Cargo Ships Waiting To Dock In Long Beach ![]() *www.twz.com* The massive backlog of cargo ships stacking up off the port of Long Beach, California, [is making headlines](). It's a complicated situation, with multiple factors contributing to the unprecedented situation, including labor shortages at the docks, growing ship sizes, and COVID-safety measures slowing down the processing of each ship's cargo, as well as a big uptick in incoming cargo, among others. Well over 60 ships are awaiting their turn to offload and the massive delay there, as well as at other U.S. ports, is impacting an already rickety supply chain that has been battered by the logistical fits and starts of the pandemic. The best way to understand just how bad the problem has become is visually. With this in mind, we obtained recent satellite imagery of the area. The image at the top of this post was taken using satellite-based [synthetic aperture radar (SAR)](), with each big ship showing up as a bright glimmer among the black backdrop of the ocean. Here is an even wider angle: ![message-editor%2F1633326281502-radarimageshipbacklogsocal.jpg]() **Sentinel Hub/Copernicus** We also obtained optical satellite imagery from Planet Labs that was taken on September 29, 2021: ![message-editor%2F1633326127976-shipbacklogofflongbeach.jpg]() **PHOTO © 2021 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION** For comparison, this was taken just one year earlier, on September 24, 2020: ![message-editor%2F1633327547615-2020longbeachsatelliteimagecargoships.jpg]() **PHOTO © 2021 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION** As you can see, the difference is absolutely massive, and these are just the ships anchored close-in. Finally, we have a shot of what Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder data shows off Long Beach, and it is remarkable to behold: ![message-editor%2F1633327842369-screenshot2021-10-03at11.08.42pm.png]() **Vesselfinder.com** As you can see in the wider shot below, there are dozens more cargo ships holding farther off the coast, near Santa Catalina or to the north of it. In all, we count roughly 80 cargo ships that appear to be sitting idle. ![message-editor%2F1633328004374-screenshot2021-10-03at11.08.54pm.png]() **Vesselfinder.com** With shipping at California's biggest port [up nearly by a third compared]() to a year ago and ongoing complications due to COVID-19, delays in cargo transfers have been present throughout the year, but they have been elevated to a new high for the fall shipping season. Many of the goods that get shipped during this time of year are meant to stock retail outlets' shelves during the holiday season, for instance. Delays in that numbered days or weeks have quickly turned into many weeks or even months as a result. Now major logistics companies are looking for any open port on the west coast to redirect their cargoes, even if it is extremely inconvenient and may shatter the established shipping price model. Of course, all these impacts tend to snowball and lead to even more delays and ballooning shipping costs down the line. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1442815601584472072 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1444416527193698304 It's also worth noting that this was an incredibly busy weekend for the area in general, with the massive Huntington Beach Air Show in the mix. This is a remote air show with acts flying over the surf and throngs of people watching from the beach. It turned out that this big event was cut short, with Sunday's show being canceled due to an oil spill in the immediate show area, which is located right by where a gaggle of cargo ships is anchored. ![message-editor%2F1633330563549-huntingtonbeachairshowsatellite.jpg]() *A satellite image of the Huntington Beach Air Show from Saturday, October 2, 2021. , *PHOTO © 2021 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION** https://twitter.com/\_/status/1444413089403654144 The spill, which was [initially reported]() as being nearly six miles long and 13 square miles in area, was very close to some of California's most popular beaches, which had to be closed. The spill was the result of a leak from an offshore oil platform named Elly. The platform works to process crude oil from two other platforms nearby that are tapped into the Beta oilfield. Globs of oil have already started to show up on Huntington Beach and in nearby wetlands. The spill is estimated to be 126,000 gallons and a major containment operation is now underway. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1444759827079733262 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1444886211466825732 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1444530307605008387 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1444875703061778432 While some [measures are being put into place]() that may help the situation, there are no clear indications that this logjam of cargo ships will be alleviated anytime soon. In fact, it may grow further before it eventually subsides. It's [yet another maritime reminder]() of the sometimes bizarre reality the post-COVID-19 world faces and of the real economic impacts that continue to reverberate from the global crisis. *Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com* ## Author Tyler’s passion is the study of military technology, strategy, as well as foreign policy, and he has fostered a dominant voice on those topics in the defense and national security space. Tyler was the creator of the hugely popular defense site *Foxtrot Alpha* before developing *TWZ*, which he continues to lead as the Editor-In-Chief to this day. ### Author social links [Twitter]()