ACTIVE VESSELS IN PORT
LOS ANGELES/LOS BEACH HARBOR
Container ships are designed in such a manner that no space is wasted. Their capacity is measured in TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), the number of 20-foot containers (each 20x8½x8½, or 6x2.6x2.6m) a vessel can carry, even though the majority of containers used today are 40 feet (12m) in length. Above a certain size, container ships do not carry their own loading gear, so loading and unloading can only be done at ports with the necessary cranes. However, smaller ships with capacities up to 2,900 TEUs are often equipped with their own cranes. Informally known as “box ships,” they carry the majority of the world’s dry cargo, meaning manufactured goods. Cargoes like metal ores or coal or wheat are carried in bulk carriers. There are large main line vessels that ply the deep sea routes, then many small “feeder” ships that supply the large ships at centralized hub ports.
