A Rare Sight

"I've lived here for fifty years, and I've never seen anything like this before," said the man next to me at Marine Park on this sunny afternoon. 

It wasn't the two small boats he was referring to -- it was the enormous container vessel, one of three, in Bellingham Bay. The protracted labor dispute that has caused costly delays in shipping at 29 West Coast ports, including Seattle, means that space must be found to "park" vessels until they can be unloaded. I wonder if Bellingham will get more?

According to The New York Times, ."..the major shipowners of the West Coast and the union of longshoremen who unload those ships... collectively bring in half of the nation's imported cargo." You may read more about the situation here, or listen to brief updates on one of our area's public radio stations, if you'd like more details.  

(We were spoilt for choice at Marine Park for blip subjects -- I was strongly tempted by the one that Phil chose, but decided to use this historic scene instead.)