More than 100 ships off the coast of LA — a record number — are waiting to offload their cargo. As a result, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order directing state agencies to figure out how to get the goods off ships faster. But it’s not just consumer goods stuck on the ships. Thousands of foreign workers are also stuck at sea. Some haven’t been on land for months.
“They’re effectively stuck at work. ... The vessel is their workplace. And the other crew members are their colleagues,” says Alena Maschke, reporter for Long Beach Business Journal/Long Beach Post.