Oct. 31: The longshoremen are refusing to move any containers at certain terminals because they say refrigerated containers that were improperly serviced in Vietnam have already exploded in Vietnam, China, and Brazil. Some of those containers have been found in Oakland and other West Coast ports.
Photos were taken in Vietnam of one of the five refrigerated containers that exploded at a port there last Friday. Three dock workers were killed and 16 were injured.
The containers were supposed to be taken out before coming to the U.S. The ILWU says they were not and thousands of them are either in ports or out on the water.
“There are potentially thousands of containers being shipped around the world, some that have ended up on docks here in Oakland, they’re potentially lethal,” said Craig Merrilees, ILWU Communications Director.
There are also reports of refrigerated containers exploding in China and Brazil since Thursday. Hundreds of longshoremen on Monday refused to unload any ships or move any containers until those improperly serviced in Vietnam are removed.
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