Excerpted from the Journal of Commerce:
A U.S. West Coast arbitrator, moving to settle a dispute that has disrupted cargo handling at some ports, on Wednesday set a uniform protocol for handling potentially dangerous refrigerated containers that have passed through Vietnam.
After a seven-hour hearing, the coast arbitrator defined an “at-risk” reefer container as one that had transited Vietnam this year and had non-electric/PLC maintenance or service work performed in Vietnam.
“We have worked tirelessly since mid-October to address this problem, and we are reassured that the arbitrator has chosen to err on the side of caution, which we think will save lives, as we determine how to resolve this very dangerous situation,” said Robert McEllrath, ILWU international president.