The massive ships that glide through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are facing extreme fuel costs as oil prices rise, often paying millions of dollars more to top off their titanic tanks.
The cost of filling up with shipping fuel in L.A. County is close to 20% higher than at other major ports in the U.S. and worldwide. The rates at the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach also have risen by more than at other ports since the war in Iran began.
With some ships requiring the equivalent of millions of gallons of fuel after they drop off and pick up cargo, the extra costs add up. Shipping companies are taking steps to reduce fuel consumption and avoid expensive routes, but much of that extra cost eventually will show up in the prices of the many products transported in the hundreds of thousands of containers that pass through the ports every month…