Marine Exchange of Southern California, 3601 S Gaffey Street Bldg 803, San Pedro, CA (2026)

08/20/2026

Good afternoon!

I hope this August Thursday afternoon finds you well.

BLUFs
1. Container Ship Arrivals: 2 Leading indicators forecast roughly steady container ship arrivals next 1-2 weeks with perhaps an uptick.

2. In the very short term, 17 container ships are scheduled to arrive in the next 3 days, exactly “normal” for a 3-day period pre-COVID 2018-9 when there were 5.7 container ship arrivals/day (5.7/day * 3 days = 17). 8 tomorrow (Friday) + 3 on Saturday + 6 on Sunday = 17. Of these, 1 is scheduled to anchor tomorrow, great for safety and air quality.

3. Attached please find the revised flyer for the International Seafarers’ Center Maritime Industry Salute Fundraising Gala, which adds ANMAV and FOSS tugs to the team of M/V ONE HENRY HUDSON FIRE HEROES to be honored.

DETAILS:

Slide 1: Slight uptick of 65.0 Container Ships on the Way per day in August, 66.3/day last 14 days, 68.6/day last 7 days, spike to 74 on 15 Aug, and 69 today is leading indicator roughly steady container ship arrivals to LA and LB next 1- 2 weeks with perhaps an uptick. These container ships are checked in with PacMMS and confirmed on the way to LA or LB.

Slide 2:
a. Container ships at a berth: Average 20.8/day in July. Average 18.9/day in August with range of 14-25, and 18 today.

b. Container ships at anchor: Average 0.8/day anchored since end of backup. Average 0.6/day anchored in August with range of 1-2, 0 on 9 of 20 days, and 1 today.

Slides 3-6: Per our PacMMS Partner, the Marine Exchange of Alaska in Juneau, as of this morning, 84 Container Ships underway enroute LA/LB/Oakland, 7 more than last week. Of the 84, 72 are bound for the ports of LA or LB, same as last week. The other 12 are bound for Oakland, 7 more than last week.

The New Queuing System for Labor, operated by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS), remains in effect and provides us with this “Container Ships on the Way” information.

Thankfully, the new system, which was created by industry and is voluntary, worked so well that when the ultimate record of container ship backup was set on 109 on 9 January 2022, only 12 were within 25-40 miles of the ports of LA and LB. The remaining 97 were voluntarily stretched out slow speed steaming across the wide Pacific or patiently loitering outside the Safety and Air Quality Area 50-150 miles offshore. A tremendous example of the innovation of industry and doing the right things right, there remain no issues, and the system continues to operate smoothly, enabled by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS).

On a day-to-day basis the system gives us advance notice of every container ship coming to LA/LB/Oakland as soon as they leave their last port of call, as much as 16 days in advance, which is good for efficiency and planning, even if there is no backup and ample labor. All container ships are reminded to check in with PacMMS when dropping their last line from their last port of call prior to Los Angeles, Long Beach, or Oakland on the PacMMS web site. PacMMS link below. The PacMMS system and associated Safety and Air Quality Area remain in place (1) in case a backup ever occurs for any reason all container ships already have a CTA which can be used for labor allocation, and (2) on a day-to-day basis, knowing every container ship enroute the ports of LA, LB, and Oakland contribute to greater efficiency of all 3 ports. Container ships continue to be marvelous at checking in and participating in this industry created and completely voluntary system.

The system was expanded to include Oakland on 11 January 2022. PacMMS is a non-profit partnership of the Marine Exchanges of Alaska in Juneau, the San Francisco Bay Region, and Southern California (mine). We're honored to a be a partner. For more info, such as Process Document, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Enrollment, Master Queuing Lists for LA/LB, and Oakland, and more, please see:

(1) The PacMMS web site: http://pacmms.org/
(2) The MX SoCal web site: https://mxsocal.org/
(3) The MX SF web site: https://www.sfmx.org/

Weather forecast: Light to moderate wind through Sunday, freshening to 20 knots Sunday night through Monday night, moderating Tuesday, and freshening again to 25 knots Tuesday night should not impact ship movements, but patchy dense fog in the mornings through Sunday might.

Blank Sailings: No additions since 31 July and 4 remain through 13 September.

Ship and Tug/Barge arrivals to LA and LB:

As of yesterday 19 August, there were 249 total arrivals of ships and large tugs/tows/barges of all types to LA and LB, 11 above “normal.”

20 Foreign Tankers 6 low
15 US Tankers 7 high
10 barges & ATBs 1 high
110 container ships 2 high
12 vehicle 1 high
19 passenger Even
18 bulk 6 low
20 general cargo 1 high
33 bunkers only 12 high

Have a good rest of your summer!

Sincerely,

Captain Kip Louttit and the MX/CG Team

08/08/2026

Good afternoon!

I hope this Friday afternoon finds you well. Lovely day… see picture with Olympic Class 49er Skiffs racing in POLA Shallow Water Habitat (look for the black sails). This is the 3rd week of major racing, and we’ve had no issues due to the great pre-planning and coordination between the race committee, local participating yacht clubs, LA Pilots, CG, VTS, and industry.

BLUFs
1. Container Ship Arrivals: 2 Leading indicators forecast roughly steady container ship arrivals next 1-2 weeks.

2. In the very short term, 15 container ships are scheduled to arrive in the next 3 days, 2 fewer than “normal” for a 3-day period pre-COVID 2018-9 when there were 5.7 container ship arrivals/day (5.7/day * 3 days = 17). 3 tomorrow (Saturday) + 9 on Sunday + 3 on Monday = 15. Of these, 1 is scheduled to anchor on Sunday, great for safety and air quality.

DETAILS:

Slide 1: Roughly steady average of 61.9 Container Ships on the Way per day past 14 days, 61.9/day in August, 62.3/day past 7 days, and 61 today is leading indicator roughly steady container ship arrivals to LA and LB next 1- 2 weeks.

Slide 2:
a. Container ships at a berth: Average 20.8/day in July. Average 22.1/day in August with range of 19-25, and 20 today.

b. Container ships at anchor: Average 0.8/day anchored since end of backup. Average 1.1/day anchored in August with range of 1-2, 0 on 0 of 7 days, and 1 today.

Slides 3-6: Per our PacMMS Partner, the Marine Exchange of Alaska in Juneau, as of yesterday, 74 Container Ships underway enroute LA/LB/Oakland, 2 more than last week. Of the 74, 63 are bound for LA or LB, 1 fewer than last week. The other 11 are bound for Oakland, 3 more than last week.

The New Queuing System for Labor, operated by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS), remains in effect and provides us with this “Container Ships on the Way” information.

Thankfully, the new system, which was created by industry and is voluntary, worked so well that when the ultimate record of container ship backup was set on 109 on 9 January 2022, only 12 were within 25-40 miles of the ports of LA and LB. The remaining 97 were voluntarily stretched out slow speed steaming across the wide Pacific or patiently loitering outside the Safety and Air Quality Area 50-150 miles offshore. A tremendous example of the innovation of industry and doing the right things right, there remain no issues, and the system continues to operate smoothly, enabled by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS).

On a day-to-day basis the system gives us advance notice of every container ship coming to LA/LB/Oakland as soon as they leave their last port of call, as much as 16 days in advance, which is good for efficiency and planning, even if there is no backup and ample labor. All container ships are reminded to check in with PacMMS when dropping their last line from their last port of call prior to Los Angeles, Long Beach, or Oakland on the PacMMS web site. PacMMS link below. The PacMMS system and associated Safety and Air Quality Area remain in place (1) in case a backup ever occurs for any reason all container ships already have a CTA which can be used for labor allocation, and (2) on a day-to-day basis, knowing every container ship enroute the ports of LA, LB, and Oakland contribute to greater efficiency of all 3 ports. Container ships continue to be marvelous at checking in and participating in this industry created and completely voluntary system.

The system was expanded to include Oakland on 11 January 2022. PacMMS is a non-profit partnership of the Marine Exchanges of Alaska in Juneau, the San Francisco Bay Region, and Southern California (mine). We're honored to a be a partner. For more info, such as Process Document, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Enrollment, Master Queuing Lists for LA/LB, and Oakland, and more, please see:

(1) The PacMMS web site: http://pacmms.org/
(2) The MX SoCal web site: https://mxsocal.org/
(3) The MX SF web site: https://www.sfmx.org/

Weather forecast: Light to moderate wind through Saturday, freshening to 20 knots Saturday night, and then moderating to light to moderate wind through the end of the forecast period Wednesday night should not impact ship movements, but patchy dense fog in the mornings through Monday might.

Blank Sailings: No additions since 31 July but 1 has passed so 8 remain through 13 September.

Ship and Tug/Barge arrivals to LA and LB:

We finished July with 395 total arrivals, 15 above “normal.” Please see 2nd slide deck. Highlights:

28 Foreign Tankers 14 low
15 US Tankers 3 high
15 barges & ATBs Even
179 container ships 3 high (see slide 5)
27 vehicle 9 high (18 would be normal)
31 passenger Even
18 bulk 3 low
20 general cargo 5 high
45 bunkers only 9 high (see slide 7)

Have a good rest of your summer!

Be safe and well,

Captain Kip Louttit and the MX/CG Team

08/01/2026

Good afternoon:

I hope you are having a good summer and end of July. Breezy and clear day today. Please see picture.

BLUFs
1. Container Ship Arrivals: 2 Leading indicators forecast steady container ship arrivals next 1-2 weeks with perhaps a dip.

2. In the very short term, 16 container ships are scheduled to arrive in the next 3 days, 1 fewer than “normal” for a 3-day period pre-COVID 2018-9 when there were 5.7 container ship arrivals/day (5.7/day * 3 days = 17). 6 tomorrow (Saturday) + 7 on Sunday + 3 on Monday = 16. Of these, 0 (none) is scheduled to anchor, great for safety and air quality.

DETAILS:

Slide 1: Average of 62.1/day Container Ships on the Way to LA/LB in July following high 60s and 70 beginning of July. Average 61.3 last 14 days, 62.0/day last 7 days, 61 yesterday and dip to 55 today is leading indicator steady container ship arrivals to LA and LB next 1- 2 weeks with perhaps a dip.

Slide 2:
a. Container ships at a berth: Average 18.9/day in June. Average 20.8/day in July with range of 8-30, and 25 today.

b. Container ships at anchor: Average 0.8/day anchored since end of backup and average 1.0/day anchored in June. Average 0.8/day anchored in July with range of 0-3. 0 on 13 of 31 days, and 0 past 4 days.

Slides 3-6: Per our PacMMS Partner, the Marine Exchange of Alaska in Juneau, as of yesterday, 72 Container Ships underway enroute LA/LB/Oakland, 5 fewer than last week. Of the 72, 64 are bound for LA or LB, 3 fewer than last week.
The other 8 are bound for Oakland, 2 fewer than last week.

The New Queuing System for Labor, operated by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS), remains in effect and provides us with this “Container Ships on the Way” information.

Thankfully, the new system, which was created by industry and is voluntary, worked so well that when the ultimate record of container ship backup was set on 109 on 9 January 2022, only 12 were within 25-40 miles of the ports of LA and LB. The remaining 97 were voluntarily stretched out slow speed steaming across the wide Pacific or patiently loitering outside the Safety and Air Quality Area 50-150 miles offshore. A tremendous example of the innovation of industry and doing the right things right, there remain no issues, and the system continues to operate smoothly, enabled by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS).

On a day-to-day basis the system gives us advance notice of every container ship coming to LA/LB/Oakland as soon as they leave their last port of call, as much as 16 days in advance, which is good for efficiency and planning, even if there is no backup and ample labor. All container ships are reminded to check in with PacMMS when dropping their last line from their last port of call prior to Los Angeles, Long Beach, or Oakland on the PacMMS web site. PacMMS link below. The PacMMS system and associated Safety and Air Quality Area remain in place (1) in case a backup ever occurs for any reason all container ships already have a CTA which can be used for labor allocation, and (2) on a day-to-day basis, knowing every container ship enroute the ports of LA, LB, and Oakland contribute to greater efficiency of all 3 ports. Container ships continue to be marvelous at checking in and participating in this industry created and completely voluntary system.

The system was expanded to include Oakland on 11 January 2022. PacMMS is a non-profit partnership of the Marine Exchanges of Alaska in Juneau, the San Francisco Bay Region, and Southern California (mine). We're honored to a be a partner. For more info, such as Process Document, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Enrollment, Master Queuing Lists for LA/LB, and Oakland, and more, please see:

(1) The PacMMS web site: http://pacmms.org/
(2) The MX SoCal web site: https://mxsocal.org/
(3) The MX SF web site: https://www.sfmx.org/

Weather forecast: Light wind to moderate wind through Tuesday night should not impact vessel movements, but patchy for through Sunday morning might, but recently has not. Typhoon Dolphin is in the Western Pacific and Hurricane Genevieve is off Mexico. Genevieve is bringing large swells to SoCal but has not impacted vessel traffic. Please see slide 4.

Blank Sailings: 3 added today for total of 9 through 13 September.

Ship and Tug/Barge arrivals to LA and LB:

We forecast finishing July with 396 total arrivals, 16 above “normal.” Please note 27 vehicle ships arrived, 9 above normal of 18.

As of yesterday:
28 Foreign Tankers 14 low
15 US Tankers 3 high
15 barges & ATBs Even
174 container ships 3 high
27 vehicle 9 high (18 would be normal)
28 passenger 2 low
18 bulk 3 low
20 general cargo 5 high
43 bunkers only 9 high

Full report next Friday when I have full-month July figures.

After a week off, sailboat racing resumes next week with the 18 NACRA foiling catamarans! We anticipate no issues due to the great pre-planning and coordination between the race committee, CG, VTS, and industry.

Sincerely,

Captain Kip Louttit and the MX/CG Team

07/25/2026

Lovely Friday.

1st 2 slides show the sailboat races we’ve had in our waters the past 2 weeks. The 14’ ILCA (1 person) and 4.7 meter 470 class (2 people) sailboats have been racing. These are 2 of the Olympic Class sailboats having international races from countries around the world which are part of the lead up to the 2028 Olympics. We’ll add the 17-foot NACRA foiling catamarans for a week in August. Great pre-planning and coordination of all led to no issues from our MX or VTS perspective. The 6 Ps have applied (Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance). Good luck to the racers!

Please see picture today… just a few racing sailboats inside the LA Breakwater in the Shallow Water Habitat, well out of the way of commercial traffic and most pleasure traffic.

With that preamble, this week's report:

BLUFs
1. Container Ship Arrivals: 2 Leading indicators forecast dip in container ship arrivals next 1-2 weeks.

2. In the very short term, only 9 container ships are scheduled to arrive in the next 3 days, a big 8 fewer than “normal” for a 3-day period pre-COVID 2018-9 when there were 5.7 container ship arrivals/day (5.7/day * 3 days = 17). 3 tomorrow (Saturday) + 1 on Sunday + 5 on Monday = 9. Of these, 0 (none) is scheduled to anchor, great for safety and air quality.

DETAILS:

Slide 1: Spike to 70 container ships on the way to LA/LB 5 July. Average 62.1/day in July. Average 66.4/day the first 7 days of July dipped to 60.4/day last 14 days, 60.6/day last 7 days, and 58 today is leading indicator of dip in container ship arrivals to LA and LB next 1- 2 weeks. These container ships are checked in with PacMMS and confirmed on the way to LA or LB.

Slide 2:
a. Container ships at a berth: Average 18.9/day in June. Average 22.0/day in July with range of 14 – 30, and 21 today.

b. Container ships at anchor: Average 0.8/day anchored since end of backup and average 1.0/day anchored in June. Average 1.0/day anchored in July with range of 0-3. 0 on 7 of 24 days, and 1 today.

Slides 3-6: Per our PacMMS Partner, the Marine Exchange of Alaska in Juneau, yesterday, Thursday 23 July 2026, 77 Container Ships were underway enroute LA/LB/Oakland, 9 fewer than last week. Of the 77, 67 are bound for LA or LB, 5 fewer than last week. The other 10 are bound for Oakland, 4 fewer than last week.

The New Queuing System for Labor, operated by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS), remains in effect and provides us with this “Container Ships on the Way” information.

Thankfully, the new system, which was created by industry and is voluntary, worked so well that when the ultimate record of container ship backup was set on 109 on 9 January 2022, only 12 were within 25-40 miles of the ports of LA and LB. The remaining 97 were voluntarily stretched out slow speed steaming across the wide Pacific or patiently loitering outside the Safety and Air Quality Area 50-150 miles offshore. A tremendous example of the innovation of industry and doing the right things right, there remain no issues, and the system continues to operate smoothly, enabled by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS).

On a day-to-day basis the system gives us advance notice of every container ship coming to LA/LB/Oakland as soon as they leave their last port of call, as much as 16 days in advance, which is good for efficiency and planning, even if there is no backup and ample labor. All container ships are reminded to check in with PacMMS when dropping their last line from their last port of call prior to Los Angeles, Long Beach, or Oakland on the PacMMS web site. PacMMS link below. The PacMMS system and associated Safety and Air Quality Area remain in place (1) in case a backup ever occurs for any reason all container ships already have a CTA which can be used for labor allocation, and (2) on a day-to-day basis, knowing every container ship enroute the ports of LA, LB, and Oakland contribute to greater efficiency of all 3 ports. Container ships continue to be marvelous at checking in and participating in this industry created and completely voluntary system.

The system was expanded to include Oakland on 11 January 2022. PacMMS is a non-profit partnership of the Marine Exchanges of Alaska in Juneau, the San Francisco Bay Region, and Southern California (mine). We're honored to a be a partner. For more info, such as Process Document, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Enrollment, Master Queuing Lists for LA/LB, and Oakland, and more, please see:

(1) The PacMMS web site: http://pacmms.org/
(2) The MX SoCal web site: https://mxsocal.org/
(3) The MX SF web site: https://www.sfmx.org/

Weather forecast: Light wind to moderate wind through Tuesday night should not impact vessel movements, but patchy for through Monday morning might, but recently has not.

Blank Sailings: 6 remain through 6 September.

Ship and tug/barge arrival counts for the 1st half of July:

295 arrivals through yesterday, 23 July, 7 above “normal. Normal defined as 12.5 arrivals/day we saw 2018-2019 pre-COVID.

20 foreign tankers 12 low
12 US tankers 4 high
13 barges & ATBs 2 high
135 container ships 4 high
18 vehicle ships 4 high
21 passenger ships 2 low
12 bulk ships 4 low
17 general cargo ships 5 high
35 bunkers only 10 high

Sincerely,

Captain Kip Louttit and the MX/CG Team

07/18/2026

Good afternoon:

I hope you are well this Friday afternoon.

A busy afternoon. When I took the picture, 3 cruise ships and 1 container ship were departing the ports of LA and LB.

Week ago, sailboat races that are part of the leadup to the 2028 Olympics started in the Port of Los Angeles. All relevant port partners have been working together to facilitate the races, and routine pleasure and commercial ship and boat traffic. The waterspace has been divided up well. There have been no issues. 2 series of races are planned for coming weeks. Some of these sailboats are out practicing today, but they are so small they don’t show up in my iPhone picture.

With that introduction, my weekly report:

BLUFs
1. Container Ship Arrivals: 2 Leading indicators forecast dip then uptick in container ship arrivals next 1-2 weeks.

2. In the very short term, 14 container ships are scheduled to arrive in the next 3 days, 3 fewer than “normal” for a 3-day period pre-COVID 2018-9 when there were 5.7 container ship arrivals/day (5.7/day * 3 days = 17). 4 tomorrow (Saturday) + 7 on Sunday + 6 on Monday = 14. Of these, 1 is scheduled to anchor on Monday, great for safety and air quality.
DETAILS:

Slide 1: Spike to 70 container ships on the way to LA/LB 5 July has cooled to average 62.8/day in July, 62.4/day last 14 days, 60.3 last 7 days, low of 57 on 15 July, but uptick to 61 yesterday and 62 today is leading indicator of dip then uptick in container ship arrivals to LA and LB next 1- 2 weeks. These container ships are checked in with PacMMS and confirmed on the way to LA or LB.

Slide 2:
a. Container ships at a berth: Average 18.9/day in June. Average 22.8/day in July with range of 14 – big 30, and 25 today.

b. Container ships at anchor: Average 0.8/day anchored since end of backup and average 1.0/day anchored in June. Average 1.1/day anchored in July with range of 0-3. 0 on 4 of 17 days. 1 today.

c. Slides 3-6: Per our PacMMS Partner, the Marine Exchange of Alaska in Juneau, yesterday, Thursday 16 July 2026, 86 Container Ships underway enroute LA/LB/Oakland, 13 more than last week. Of the 86, 72 are bound for LA or LB, 7 more than last week. The other 14 are bound for Oakland, 6 more than last week.

The New Queuing System for Labor, operated by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS), remains in effect and provides us with this “Container Ships on the Way” information.

Thankfully, the new system, which was created by industry and is voluntary, worked so well that when the ultimate record of container ship backup was set on 109 on 9 January 2022, only 12 were within 25-40 miles of the ports of LA and LB. The remaining 97 were voluntarily stretched out slow speed steaming across the wide Pacific or patiently loitering outside the Safety and Air Quality Area 50-150 miles offshore. A tremendous example of the innovation of industry and doing the right things right, there remain no issues, and the system continues to operate smoothly, enabled by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS).

On a day-to-day basis the system gives us advance notice of every container ship coming to LA/LB/Oakland as soon as they leave their last port of call, as much as 16 days in advance, which is good for efficiency and planning, even if there is no backup and ample labor. All container ships are reminded to check in with PacMMS when dropping their last line from their last port of call prior to Los Angeles, Long Beach, or Oakland on the PacMMS web site. PacMMS link below. The PacMMS system and associated Safety and Air Quality Area remain in place (1) in case a backup ever occurs for any reason all container ships already have a CTA which can be used for labor allocation, and (2) on a day-to-day basis, knowing every container ship enroute the ports of LA, LB, and Oakland contribute to greater efficiency of all 3 ports. Container ships continue to be marvelous at checking in and participating in this industry created and completely voluntary system.

The system was expanded to include Oakland on 11 January 2022. PacMMS is a non-profit partnership of the Marine Exchanges of Alaska in Juneau, the San Francisco Bay Region, and Southern California (mine). We're honored to a be a partner. For more info, such as Process Document, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Enrollment, Master Queuing Lists for LA/LB, and Oakland, and more, please see:
(1) The PacMMS web site: http://pacmms.org/
(2) The MX SoCal web site: https://mxsocal.org/
(3) The MX SF web site: https://www.sfmx.org/

Weather forecast: Light wind to moderate wind through Tuesday should not impact vessel movements, nor should stronger wind to 20 knots Tuesday and Wednesday nights, but patchy for through Monday night might, but recently has not.

Blank Sailings: 1 added 14 July and deducting those which passed, 6 remain through 6 September.

Ship and tug/barge arrival counts for the 1st half of July:

196 total through 15 July: 8 above “normal. Normal defined as 12.5 arrivals/day we saw 2018-2019 pre-COVID.

14 foreign tankers 7 low
9 US tankers 3 high
9 barges & ATBs 1 high
88 container ships 2 high
11 vehicle ships 2 high
14 passenger ships 1 low
10 bulk ships even
12 general cargo ships 3 high
23 bunkers only 6 high

Our flags are at ½ mast in honor and memory of Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, who passed away.

Sincerely,

Captain Kip Louttit and the MX/CG Team

07/17/2026

Good evening:

The forwarded and attached are sent on behalf of the San Pedro Olympic Class Regatta regarding upcoming Sailboat Races.

The attached chartlet depicts the 3 racing areas for various classes of Olympics Class of sailboats during the 19-24 July and 2-8 August 2026 periods.

Race area 1 is inside the POLA Breakwater in the Shallow Water Habitat.

Race Area 2 is outside the POLA Breakwater, South of Point Fermin, and West of Los Angeles Lighthouse, POLA Pilot Boarding Area, and the Main Channel to and from the Port of Los Angeles.

Race Area 3 is outside the POLA & POLB Breakwater in the Golf Anchorages and East of the POLA Pilot Boarding Area and the Main Channel to and from the Port of Los Angeles, and West of the POLB Pilot Boarding Area and Main Channel to and from the Port of Long Beach. This is a new racing area. Racers and support boats will cross the LA Main Channel while transiting to and from the race area.

Dozens of small boat sailors for the events that will deploy out the Port of LA Cabrillo Beach Youth Waterfront Facility.

Several of the racing areas may be used each day.

We request widest distribution to the maritime community who use these waters including ships, tugs, ferries, whale watching boats, charter fishing boats, sightseeing boats, autonomous vessels, and pleasure boats. Please avoid the area and remain outside the racing areas.

The points of contact are:
Race Chairman Ken Corry (714) 357-1079
Race Officer Jonathan Mitsumori (310) 831-4757

Yours in communication and cooperation for safe and sound maritime events.

Captain Kip Louttit

07/11/2026

View from the MX, overlooking the approaches and entrances to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. 3 big, white cruise ships have departed and are in the distance. The small white dots are 14 Foot Long International Laser Class Association sailboat races. This is the single-handed (1 person) Olympic Class sailboats, and the North American Nationals Competition is in progress. This is one of the feeder races to the Olympics, and we're proud of being part of the Marine Transportation System that can divide up the waterspace so all types of vessels can accomplish their activities in a safe and secure manner. Good luck to the racers! Welcome to LA/LB and sail fast and safe! Capt L and the MX/CG Team

07/11/2026

Good afternoon!

I hope your Friday afternoon finds you well.

BLUFs
1. Container Ship Arrivals: Leading indicators forecast uptick and then dip in container ship arrivals next 1-2 weeks.

2. In the very short term, 15 container ships are scheduled to arrive in the next 3 days, 2 fewer than “normal” for a 3-day period pre-COVID 2018-9 when there were 5.7 container ship arrivals/day (5.7/day * 3 days = 17). 3 tomorrow (Saturday) + 6 on Sunday + 6 on Monday = 15. Of these, none (0) is scheduled to anchor, great for safety and air quality.
DETAILS:

Slide 1: Spike to high 60s and then 70 last Sunday, roughly steady average 65.4/day last 14 days, 64.4/day in July, 64.5/day last 7 days, and then dip to 60, 59, and 61 last 3 days could be leading indicators of uptick and then dip in container ship arrivals to LA and LB next 1- 2 weeks. These container ships are checked in with PacMMS and confirmed on the way to LA or LB.

Slide 2:
a. Container ships at a berth: Average 18.9/day in June. Average 23.2/day in July with range of 14 – big 30, and 27 today. We Haven’t had 30 container ships at a berth since 24 June 2022 when we were clearing out the backup.

b. Container ships at anchor: Average 0.8/day anchored since end of backup and average 1.0/day anchored in June. Average 1.5/day anchored in July with range of 0-3. 0 on 1 of 10 days. 1 today.

c. Slides 3-6: Per our PacMMS Partner, the Marine Exchange of Alaska in Juneau, yesterday, Thursday 9 July 2026, 73 Container Ships underway enroute LA/LB/Oakland, 5 fewer than last week. Of the 73, 65 are bound for LA or LB, 6 fewer than last week. The other 8 are bound for Oakland, 1 more than last week.

The New Queuing System for Labor, operated by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS), remains in effect and provides us with this “Container Ships on the Way” information.

Thankfully, the new system, which was created by industry and is voluntary, worked so well that when the ultimate record of container ship backup was set on 109 on 9 January 2022, only 12 were within 25-40 miles of the ports of LA and LB. The remaining 97 were voluntarily stretched out slow speed steaming across the wide Pacific or patiently loitering outside the Safety and Air Quality Area 50-150 miles offshore. A tremendous example of the innovation of industry and doing the right things right, there remain no issues, and the system continues to operate smoothly, enabled by Pacific Maritime Management Services (PacMMS).

On a day-to-day basis the system gives us advance notice of every container ship coming to LA/LB/Oakland as soon as they leave their last port of call, as much as 16 days in advance, which is good for efficiency and planning, even if there is no backup and ample labor. All container ships are reminded to check in with PacMMS when dropping their last line from their last port of call prior to Los Angeles, Long Beach, or Oakland on the PacMMS web site. PacMMS link below. The PacMMS system and associated Safety and Air Quality Area remain in place (1) in case a backup ever occurs for any reason all container ships already have a CTA which can be used for labor allocation, and (2) on a day-to-day basis, knowing every container ship enroute the ports of LA, LB, and Oakland contribute to greater efficiency of all 3 ports. Container ships continue to be marvelous at checking in and participating in this industry created and completely voluntary system.

The system was expanded to include Oakland on 11 January 2022. PacMMS is a non-profit partnership of the Marine Exchanges of Alaska in Juneau, the San Francisco Bay Region, and Southern California (mine). We're honored to a be a partner. For more info, such as Process Document, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Enrollment, Master Queuing Lists for LA/LB, and Oakland, and more, please see:
(1) The PacMMS web site: http://pacmms.org/
(2) The MX SoCal web site: https://mxsocal.org/
(3) The MX SF web site: https://www.sfmx.org/

Weather forecast: Light wind to moderate wind through Tuesday should not impact vessel movements, nor should stronger wind to 20 knots Tuesday night, and moderating back to light to moderate wind through Wednesday night, but patchy Sunday evening might, (but recently has not).

Blank Sailings: 2 were added 7 July, and deducting those which passed, 7 total through 16 August.

June vessel and ship arrival counts are in the 2nd slide deck for June. Summary:

381 total vessels/ships arrived in LA and LB in June:
On a month-to-month basis, 381 is 1 above “normal” for the month, and puts us 3 above “normal” for Calendar Year 2026. Normal defined as 380 total arrivals/month we saw 2018-2019 pre-COVID.
On a day-to-day basis, 381 is 7 above “normal” for the month and puts us 15 over “normal” for Calendar Year 2026 when short and long 28, 30 and 31 day months are accounted for. Normal defined as 12.5 arrivals/day we saw 2018-2019 pre-COVID.

34 foreign tankers 8 low
15 US tankers 3 high
19 barges & ATBs 4 high
172 container ships 2 high. Please see slide 5
22 vehicle ships 4 high
32 passenger ships 2 high
15 bulk ships 6 low
14 general cargo ships even
381 total 1 high on a month to month count, 7 high on a day to day count accounting for June being only 30 days

For the 1st 8 days of July: 111 total vessels/ships off all types arrived, 11 high. Of the total 50 were container ships, 4 high. Everything else relatively normal. More next week mid-month.

Be safe, healthy, and well. Please take care on exotic high risk summer sports.

Captain Kip Louttit and the MX/CG Team

Marine Exchange of Southern California

08/20/2026

08/08/2026

08/01/2026

07/25/2026

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07/11/2026

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