The everyday mechanisms that help keep the supply chain running are highlighted in the backlogs at the nation's largest ports.
Longshoremen have moved a record amount of cargo through the ports this year, and the role of crane operators has taken center stage. The dock workers that operate the three-story-high cranes are working against a clock to move as many as 45 containers an hour amid a traffic jam of over 500,000 containers.
A recently retired crane operator and instructor who worked as a longshoremen for over 40 years shared videos with Insider documenting his experience. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union does not advise workers to speak to the media, but Insider verified the identity of the former longshoremen.
One video shows how operators get into the cranes.
The operator takes an elevator to the cabin. The 20 and 40-foot containers look small from the cabin windows. The crane instructor explained the process has not changed even though the video was taken two years ago.
A crane operator looks through the glass floor of the cab.
"Imagine trying to read a book on the floor when you're sitting on the toilet," the instructor said. "As a crane operator, you can spend five hours looking through that glass floor."
There are too many buttons to count in the cabin, including a large joystick that the operator uses to position the crane over the shipping containers.
The retired crane instructor told Insider that it can be physically demanding because of the way the cranes move. The cranes sway to a certain degree so when you're moving over the ship or back to the dock, you can feel the vibration inside the cabin. You are bouncing around up there.
A video from the Port of Seattle shows how the cranes pick up containers.
The positioning of the crane to pick up the container is dependent on the operator's skill and training.
The retired instructor said that at the end of the day, you're handling a container that weighs 40 tons and you have people working underneath you on the dock that are dependent on you to operate it safely from that height and put it in a very specific place. There are a lot of things that could go wrong if you don't focus. You could get the container under it. There could be a stack of containers behind you on the deck.
A former crane operator at the Port of Los Angeles told Insider that it has become more difficult to move cargo due to port congestion which has packed docks and terminals with shipping containers.
The retired crane instructor who worked at the Port of Seattle and the Port of Long Beach told Insider that the role of crane operator is a highly coveted job, but it requires specialized skills. It takes 15 to 20 years for a longshoreman to be promoted to the more senior role of crane operator and 30 days of intensive training, exams, and simulations for a new recruit to be able to operate a crane alone.
