What’s with all the ship traffic in Bellingham Bay? There could be more on the way
READ MORE
Bellingham Bay shipping
From international COVID-pandemic shipping delays to new initiatives by the Port of Bellingham, there’s a lot going on in Bellingham Bay. Have a question or story idea? Send it to newsroom@bellinghamherald.com
Expand All
Port of Bellingham suggests this may increase container shipping contracts
This is how idling container ships in Bellingham Bay could impact the environment
Glut of container ships expected to keep arriving on West Coast and Bellingham Bay
.jpg)
What’s with all the ship traffic in Bellingham Bay? There could be more on the way
Here’s what’s going on with the new arrival at the Port of Bellingham’s shipping terminal
A couple of large shipping vessels are capturing the attention of Bellingham residents, and more could be on the way.
This summer container ships have dropped anchor in Bellingham Bay, waiting to unload in Seattle ports. On Friday afternoon, July 16, two of these ships were hanging out in local waters. According to the website MarineTraffic.com, one of the ships is the APL Santiago, while the other is the MSC Vidisha R.
According to the website the APL Santiago came from Shanghai and is scheduled to move on to Seattle this weekend. At 328 meters, it’s more than three times the length of a football field and can carry up to 9,200 containers that are each 20 feet in length.
The MSC Vidisha R arrived in Bellingham Bay Friday morning from Vancouver. Its next destination isn’t listed on the website, but it is 281 meters in length and has a carrying capacity of 4,112 containers.
It’s typical to see commercial fishing, recreation and tour boats as well as the occasional oil tanker on Bellingham Bay, but large container ships are less common. The reason more are in the bay this summer is they are waiting their turns to unload at nearby overcrowded ports.
Bloomberg is reporting that a huge number of container ships are coming from China to the West Coast of the U.S. to unload products. The rush of supply is to meet the demand for goods in the U.S. as restrictions are lifted as the COVID-19 pandemic eases. The glut of ships coming into West Coast ports is expected to continue, so Bellingham Bay could see more ships drop anchor.
The Port of Bellingham is hoping to land some of this container ship business soon at the Bellingham Shipping Terminal. The agency recently acquired a crane for the terminal, which can allow ships to unload some containers for temporary storage here or to be loaded on to trucks for transport.
This story was originally published July 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
