Why a record number of container ships are chilling off the California coast

As retailers gear up for the holiday season, a record number of container ships trying to bring imported goods into the US are stuck off the coast of California, another casualty of ongoing disruptions to the global supply chain. Sixty-five vessels were waiting to dock at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in the San Pedro Bay Sept. 16, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, a record high. Captain Kip Louttit of the Marine Exchange told Quartz that an unprecedented 23 of these ships are in a drift area—meaning there is no room for them to anchor in the water.