Keep on Shipping--- Dock Workers Strike is Suspended

 

It was a wistful outing to Sullivan’s Island on Sunday, Sept. 29 amid news that at midnight Tuesday port dockworkers from Maine to Texas would go on strike. 

The strike did happen but the good news as I begin this post Thursday at 7 p.m. is that it was just announced that the strike is suspended and International Longshoremen Association union members will return to work tomorrow morning. The ILA represents 85,000 longshoremen in the U.S., eastern Canada, Puerto Rico and the Bahamans.

So these big container ships will soon again be loading and offloading precious cargo at Charleston’s several ports. 

Hopefully things will quickly settle down at grocery stores where many shoppers have been stocking up on food and supplies, fearing shortages a long strike could cause. Plus people and organizations have been buying water, food and other products to help those suffering from the wrath of Hurricane Helene. 

We were fortunate to only have lots of yard debris caused by Helene's winds in our area.

Right as we arrived on the beach just before noon two APL ships passed in the harbor. The Southampton entered the harbor…

…as the APL Esplanade headed out to sea. A ship tracking site says it is bound for Caucedo, Dominican Republic expected to dock tomorrow, Oct. 4.

The Esplanade (its voyage underway as a shrimp boat passes) and the Southampton are both registered in Singapore. 

After a day or two docked in Charleston the Southampton is next destined for Brazil. It may be delayed by the ILA strike but now that it has been halted (until after the Nov. 5 election apparently) it should be soon on its way if it’s not already. 

APL is the American shipping company, a huge air, land and sea operation, that is a subsidiary of the French shipping company CMA CGM whose ships I have also seen from Sullivan’s Island.

On this lovely early fall day, pleasant, wholesome family scenes took place amid the continuous activity on the water. 

I spotted two shrimp boats near the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. The span, opened in 2005, joins Charleston and Mount Pleasant over the Cooper River. Longtime residents may still call the long span the Cooper River Bridge. 

Check out my "Views from the Ravenel Bridge" post from October 2023. The walk across the bridge is great exerecise with great scenery! 

This is a pilot boat called Fort Sumter. 

These vessels are key in helping ships and boats navigate the Charleston Harbor. 

The Fort Sumter may have helped this Maersk container ship dock smoothly to the Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. terminal. 

Here’s another photo of the pilot ship Fort Sumter. Note the Brown Pelican in the top right corner. 

The Fort Sumter boat is named for the historic Fort Sumter fort seen here as a catamaran sails by. 

A view of the catamaran through the maritime forest. 

These are Gulf Fritillary butterflies. It is about the time of the year when they migrate south for the winter. It is amazing that these small, delicate creatures can safely navigate hundreds of miles. The destination is likely Florida. 

We first noticed these colorful butterfilies flying south along the Sullivan's Island beach last November. Here is the post I did after seeing the unusual yet inspiring spectacle.

There are often surf fishermen trying their luck on Sullivan’s Island. As we walked by this young man had a pull on his line.

He showed the Bluefish that took his mullet bait. I didn’t get the guy’s name, wish I had.  I hope he enjoyed his catch. Fishing with by father on the Chesapeake Bay we would catch lots of Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel, Crocker and other fish.

Check out my YouTube video from a Chesapeake Bay family excursion we had in 2008. 

Buoy No. 2 gets a closeup. A red one like this signals that boats and ships when entering the harbor from the ocean should pass the buoy on the starboard or right side. 

Kiteboarding was among the many activities on the beach today to go with walking, sunning, and playing by the young and old. Photo taking is what I enjoy doing.

Eating is another popular thing to do at the beach. A small crab looks like the catch this Willet has in its long bill.

Like the little boy may be indicating, it’s time for us to go. 

Remember at the beach, leave behind footprints and nothing else!