Cyberattack Sidelines LA Port's Largest Terminal For A Second Day

SAN PEDRO, CA — A cyberattack that hit computers at various companies in Europe and around the globe shut down the Port of Los Angeles' largest terminal for a second straight day Wednesday.

The shutdown of the APM Terminal, which is operated by Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, began about 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Maersk confirmed in a statement Tuesday that it was "hit as part of a global cyberattack named Petya, affecting multiple sites and select business units. We are responding to the situation to contain and limit the impact and uphold operations."

Phillip Sanfield, a spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles, stressed that the port itself and its computers were not hit in the cyberattack and that the port's other seven terminals were operating normally. He said the APM Terminal was giving the port updates with each shift change and said it would remain shut down at least through 5 Wednesday afternoon.

The `Petya' ransomware attack hit businesses and government agencies in at least 65 countries, including the United States, according to NPR. Maerk's operations have been impacted around the globe, not just at the Port of Los Angeles.

Sanfield said no ships were scheduled to dock at the APM Terminal Wednesday, but that one was due to arrive Thursday. There are a number of options the terminal could choose on how to handle the ship if operations are still shut down, including having it dock at another terminal, Sanfield said.

No ships docked at the terminal on Tuesday or were scheduled to do so, but Sanfield explained that there is still work to be done when there are no ships at the terminal, although nothing was happening at the APM Terminal as a result of the cyberattack on Maersk.

"When a terminal doesn't have a ship, it still does some landside operations. It prepares for the next ship and there's a lot of cargo moving around the docks on the landside ...," he said.

City News Service; Photo: Public Domain via Pixabay