New Cargo Handling World Record Set at Port of Los Angeles

The Port of LA reports that longshoremen with International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Locals 13, 63 and 94 successfully moved 18,465 containers from the MSC Isabella during a single ship call at APM Terminals’ Pier 400.

The new all-time world record — equal to 34,263 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) — is 1,385 containers more than the previously held record.

New Cargo Handling World Record Set at Port of Los Angeles
June 23, 2020 by Mike Schuler

MSC Isabella at the Port of Los Angeles. Photo courtesy Port of Los Angeles
A new world record for the most container movements during a single ship call was set last week at the Port of Los Angeles.

The Port of LA reports that longshoremen with International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Locals 13, 63 and 94 successfully moved 18,465 containers from the MSC Isabella during a single ship call at APM Terminals’ Pier 400.

The new all-time world record — equal to 34,263 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) — is 1,385 containers more than the previously held record.


 The MSC Isabella is one of the largest containerships in the world with capacity to transport more than 23,600 TEUs. Its arrival in Los Angeles marks its first time calling at a North American container port.

In setting the record, longshoremen used nine ship-to-shore cranes simultaneously to load and offload containers.

“This achievement continues to show that the Port of Los Angeles is big-ship steady and can adeptly handle these increasingly bigger cargo lifts,” said Gene Seroka, Executive Director at the Port of Los Angeles. “We applaud the outstanding work of our ILWU workforce, and the great people of APM Terminals and MSC who put their trust in the Port of Los Angeles to carry out this cargo move milestone.”