Does a screenshot of a ship-tracking map prove that all the ships shown along the Chinese coast were "waiting to dock" because of China's COVID-19 strategy? No, that's not true: The screenshot provided no context for the claim, and it showed ships of all purposes that were both anchored and underway. A spokesperson for MarineTraffic, a popular ship-tracking website, confirmed…

Is the October 2021 backlog of cargo ships off Los Angeles' harbors caused by the "California truck ban"? No, that is not true: Multiple organizations in the supply chain have confirmed the long wait times at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are due to a shortage of drivers, a burst of global shipping and other factors. The truck…

If products were made in the United States, would the U.S. cargo ship backlog -- spurred in part by the COVID-19 pandemic -- be inconsequential? No, that's not true: Not only does the U.S. produce its fair share of products, but trade is vital to the country's economy. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) on October 10,…

Are there "over 1,000 cargo ships' sitting off the California coast at the end of the first week of October, 2021? No, that's not true: Although there was an unusually high number of ships waiting to be unloaded, the number was less than one-seventh what was claimed. The claim did not specify which port it was referring to, but the…

Does a viral screenshot of a live map of ships' locations exclusively show ships that are moored or anchored rather than underway? No, that's not true: The screenshot primarily shows ships underway, according to common iconography used on vessel-tracking websites and apps. The post appears to be related to claims about cargo ship backlogs in the U.S. and around the…

Are cargo ships being prevented by U.S. states from unloading goods, causing a backlog? No, that's not true: Although there are dozens of waiting ships at U.S. ports that is resulting in a delivery backlog, the backlog is the result of supply chain problems, changes in consumer demand and port worker availability, not by states preventing ships from unloading their…