There was a time when life at the port was an intimate part of the people and communities that surrounded it. If your livelihood wasn’t in some way dependent on the port, at least you had a close-up view of the daily happenings along with free-flowing access to the ships, sailors, merchants, and others who worked there.

The steady growth in trade and commerce over the decades forced the nation’s ports to expand in size and sophistication-slowly removing them from public view and transforming the relationship between people and ports. The security precautions enacted in recent years made access all the more unattainable.

Despite this, some things remain unchanged. The people that I met on a recent field trip to the Port of Los Angeles-a harbor drayman, a port pilot, representatives from the ILWU, a construction manager with the Alameda Transportation Corridor Authority, a ship captain, and an officer with the port police-was not only enlightening but encouraging. All were professional, highly trained, very capable, and most evident, shared a genuine love for their job.

Melnis Mouradian, Drayman, Transport Express

Melnis Mouradian arrives at his employer’s warehouse in Rancho Dominguez, California at mid-morning. He’s already spent about an hour and a half driving on L.A.’s crowded freeways just to get here, and yet his day behind the wheel of his Freightliner truck has just begun.

Since the introduction of the PierPASS off-peak program at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach just over 18 months ago, workdays have become a lot longer.

Like most harbor draymen, Mouradian is paid by the number of trips he can complete-the more containers he can shuttle back and forth to the port complex the more money he makes.

When he started as a drayman 12 years ago, he was making a decent living wage. However, the proliferation of truckers and start-up companies began to saturate the market. At the same time, growing import volumes were leading to more congestion at the ports. While PierPASS has moved a sizeable amount of freight to off-peak hours, it hasn’t been the “magic bullet” that proponents make it out to be, he says.

For starters, some marine terminals are simply more efficient than others, while many importers’ facilities aren’t open at night to receive freight. To top it off, the revised Hours of Service rule means “the clock’s always running” when you’re in your rig. No longer can a driver afford to wait at an importer’s warehouse for two hours or more while dropping off his load. And, if there’s a long line at the marine terminal, “you’re out of luck,” says Mouradian.

Meanwhile, the growing environmental movement and the costs associated with it could disproportionately impact draymen, remarks Mouradian’s boss, Patty Senecal, vice president of sales and marketing for Transport Express. While she acknowledges the benefits of cleaner operating equipment at the port, the financial burden on draymen will likely be severe. New low-emission engines, cleaner-burning fuel requirements, a myriad of clean air legislation, and the overall rising costs of operating a truck (insurance, fuel, tires) will further dilute his earning power.

Admittedly, the harbor draymen do have a number of legitimate gripes and their working conditions are far from glamorous in many respects. The one consolation is that the pace of change in global trade is so quick today, that inadequacies and inequalities in the supply chain usually come to light sooner than later, whether it involves questionable labor practices in an overseas factory or the plight of draymen serving the nation’s seaports.

Ron Rogers, Los Angeles Port Pilot

Even though harbor pilots are a fixture at every major seaport in the U.S. and their industry has been regulated since the late 1700s, surprisingly few people are familiar with this select group of maritime professionals, even those involved with waterborne trade.

The role of the harbor pilot is simple-to ensure the safe passage of ships coming into or exiting the harbor. This sounds fairly straightforward, especially given the sophisticated equipment at the pilots’ disposal. But the variables that a pilot faces in the short two-hour roundtrip that he makes, starting with being dispatched from the office, shuttled aboard a small pilot boat to meet the incoming vessel, boarding the vessel and guiding her into the berth, are numerous and potentially treacherous.

For instance, weather is usually not a major factor at the Port of Los Angeles, unlike ports in colder climates, but that doesn’t mean that every day is perfect sailing. Southern California’s dry, warm Santa Ana winds, which usually kick up in autumn and early winter, can sometimes reach hurricane strength as they channel through the mountain passes out to the Pacific Ocean. Among other things, it makes boarding a huge ship from a small pilot boat out in the open water quite challenging.

For all the high-tech tools that a pilot uses, the short trip up the Jacob’s ladder (a rope ladder with wooden steps) to board the large ship has remained unchanged for decades. This is just one of the many activities that make a pilot’s job anything but ordinary.

On a recent afternoon, I meet with Pilot Ron Rogers. He has been assigned to bring the Ever Superb into berth.

The Taiwanese containership Ever Superb, a 75,246 gross ton vessel with Captain Tsai Wang at the helm is just outside the breakwater.

Rogers is a Southern California native who spent a significant portion of his career on tugboats before becoming a pilot. He is rather unassuming in a short-sleeved shirt and a baseball cap covering his gray hair. But, his experience is quickly evident once he begins talking about piloting.

I climb onto the pilot boat with him for the 15-minute trip out to meet the Ever Superb. Mark and Robin, our two boat operators, shove off from Berth 68 and head out to open water.

Within minutes, the vessel, which looked like a speck on the water when we departed, now takes up the entire view outside the window of the pilot boat. We approach the Ever Superb on the port side, and then cross behind her to the starboard side. Dangling from a small door on the side of the ship is THE LADDER. The boat crew masterfully positions us alongside the Ever Superb. Rogers steps off the boat and onto the ladder and I follow him up to the tiny landing outside the door. An everyday routine for him is my once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Once aboard, we take the elevator up to the bridge. The captain is there to greet us. He and Rogers have worked together in the past, and they are happy to get reacquainted. Within minutes, Rogers is fully briefed by the captain, who will now let Rogers take over. The friendly demeanor fades as Rogers begins giving instructions in a firm voice.

Two Foss Maritime tugboats are approaching. They’ll help guide us down the Port of Los Angeles’ main channel, before passing beneath the towering Vincent Thomas Bridge and into the turning basin. With the tugs’ help, the Ever Superb will be turned around completely before coming to berth. All vessels within the Port of Los Angeles use the same radio frequency to communicate, and Rogers maintains contact with both of the tugs while simultaneously working with the captain.

As we near the turning basin, the pace quickens and Rogers’ commands become more punctuated. This close to berth, the ship’s size becomes readily apparent. The mood is temporarily more serious-this is where one small misstep could quickly turn into something extremely dangerous. Rogers tells me later that the stress of the job eats up many pilots. He’s had a few close calls, ones that were out of his control, and “you never forget them,” he says.

Ed Green, Captain of the APL Singapore

Like many in the maritime industry, APL Captain Ed Green comes from a family that succumbed to the call of the sea. His father started his career in Norway, then accepted what was intended to be a temporary nine-month position in Suriname working on a dredging project for the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA). During the first quarter of the 19th century, Suriname represented a significant interest for ALCOA, which began exploiting bauxite deposits in East Suriname. The company needed more than just temporary workers, and the elder Green’s assignment turned into 30 years spent in the South American country, which at that time was a Dutch colony.

Captain Green’s early childhood was also spent in Suriname, where he attended Dutch schools. In retrospect, he says he’s thankful for the rigorous academic standards at the Dutch schools, which he credits with helping him gain entrance into the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. “By the time I was in high school (in Louisiana), I had let my grades slip a bit. But, I scored in the upper 10 percent on the SAT test, which made the difference.”

Once a cadet completes the academic portion, he or she must acquire their ‘sea legs’-which in addition to keeping your balance on ship, means years of working their way up in rank to master their maritime skills. One of the first vessels Captain Green ever worked on was the tanker Puerto Rican, which carried liquefied gas. Not only did he get to experience the romance of life at sea, his post on a vessel charged with transporting hazardous materials meant that he quickly learned the importance of safety at sea. He tells me that, ironically, this same vessel was involved in a serious explosion years later that broke the vessel in two, killing one crew member and injuring several others.

The deep-seated regard for safety has stayed with him. When we first meet upon Captain Green’s vessel, the APL Singapore, he’s in the midst of an on-board fire drill. Although federal and international maritime rules stipulate how often a ship’s captain must conduct a fire drill, the captain can conduct a drill at his discretion, and Captain Green has no problem exercising his authority.

Built in 1995, the 863-feet APL Singapore with a capacity of 5,100-TEUs sails monthly between Los Angeles, Oakland, and the Far East. The vessel made history recently with a pioneering fuel emulsification system that was installed in its engine room. The system, which is currently being tested to reduce emissions and save fuel, injects water into the ship’s bunker fuel while continually ‘whisking’ it to keep the oil and water from separating. For every 1 percent of water mixed with the fuel, nitrogen oxide emissions will be cut by 1 percent. It’s hoped that a mixture of up to 20 percent water will eventually be achieved, which would also cut emissions by 20 percent.

Captain Green’s schedule on the vessel typically runs “70 days on, 70 days off.” He is days away from getting a “nice, long break,” which means time off at home in Iowa. He will spend about three days in Los Angeles, then north head to Oakland for the last leg of his journey. From there, Captain Jeff Cowan will take over. Generally, captains remain with the same commercial vessel, and Captains Green and Cowan share the APL Singapore.

Ship captains spend more time on paperwork these days, explains Captain Green. The requisite nautical recordkeeping has been supplemented with environment-related and security paperwork. And, while advancements in technology make navigation ‘almost effortless,’ it’s just one more aspect of a modern day ship captain’s life that seems further removed from the traditional routine. “All the fancy equipment in the world cannot substitute for your human instincts,” he says; referring to his frequent walks outside while at sea to watch the sky, feel the wind, and sense impending changes in the weather.

Aside from the thousands of containers Captain Green has transported over the years, there are a few cargoes that stand out as unusual. Once, he transported live palm trees from California to the Middle East for a wealthy sheik who was building a golf course. The arid climate called for a special palm tree that was found only in California. Captain Green made sure the trees received the proper watering along the voyage, per the shipper’s instructions.

During the Persian Gulf War in 1991, he was called upon to deliver three MASH units to the region along with “one of the most valuable cargoes I ever transported-a single container of high-priced pharmaceuticals.”

Officer Glenn Twardy, Los Angeles Port Police

The Port of Los Angeles is one of the busiest and most high profile in the nation. Naturally, the focus on security in the last six years has reached a near obsession-and that’s a positive. The port’s police department is a highly specialized group, according to Office Glenn Twardy, who’s been with the force three years. On the day we meet, he’s on his motorcycle, but he’s also trained to patrol on boat and will sometimes patrol by car. The department also monitors the port by helicopter, automobile, and bicycle. In addition, there’s a dive team, K-9 unit, and units assigned to watch for cargo theft and drug trafficking.

On the water, the Los Angeles Port Police utilizes a well-armed patrol boat made by the same company whose craft are used by the U.S. Coast Guard. Port Orchard, Washington-based Safe Boats International manufactures the security boat. The compact, high-speed, customized boats are foam stabilized through a patented system, and when it comes down to it, are “quite capable,” says Officer Twardy, with a wide grin.

He spends much of his time patrolling on motorcycle and keeping traffic flowing smoothly and safely. Even a fender-bender along any of the roads within the port area, especially involving a large vehicle such as a truck, has the potential to snowball into a time-consuming and costly delay. With the port’s close proximity to the surrounding communities of Wilmington and San Pedro, it’s also his job to keep trucks from detouring into residential areas, where their excessive weight can tear up city streets and pose a traffic hazard. The police also look out for truckers with poor equipment, broken lights, or anything else that might turn into a more significant traffic menace outside of the port complex if a driver’s route takes him onto a major freeway, “such as Interstate 5-a common route from Southern California to all points north,” says Officer Twardy.

Despite my brief exchange with Officer Twardy, his competency and professionalism are apparent, as is his warm personality. He mentions the changes he’s seen in his career since 9/11. Most notable, he says, is the way that law enforcement agencies have “dropped their egos” and have begun working and networking more for the sake of enhancing security. It’s clear to see that Officer Twardy embodies the best qualities of this new breed of law enforcement.

Sidebar: Port of L.A. Centennial (1907-2007)

This year marks the 100-year anniversary of the Port of Los Angeles. Like the people who have worked there over the years, the port has undergone dramatic changes.

During the early years, lumber was one of the most important cargoes, which was in great demand for local construction projects. Tuna fishing was another essential commodity, and the industry attracted thousands of immigrants from countries such as Italy and Croatia. Today, the city of San Pedro (adjacent to the port) is home to the largest Italian American community in Southern California, estimated to number just over 45,000.

Presently, the Port of Los Angeles along with the neighboring Port of Long Beach comprises one of the busiest container seaports in the world.

Some landmark dates, according to the Port of Los Angeles Web site, include:

1542: Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered the “Bay of Smokes.”

1805: The Leila Byrd was the first American trading ship to call at San Pedro, bringing sugar, textiles, and household goods in exchange for otter pelts and provisions.

1869: Los Angeles and San Pedro Railroad began service between the harbor and Los Angeles. The 21-mile stretch of track was the first railroad in Southern California and marked the beginning of a new era of development for the harbor area.

1907: Port of Los Angeles officially founded with the creation of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners.

1914: Panama Canal opened. As the nearest major American port west of the Panama Canal, the Port of Los Angeles became the natural port-of-call for most trans-Pacific and coastal users.

1959: Matson Navigation Company’s Hawaiian Merchant made its first shipment of 20 cargo containers, marking the beginning of the containerized cargo revolution. Car carriers also became common during this period.

1985: The port handled one million containers in a year for the first time. Four years later, container traffic exceeded two million containers.

1997: APL Limited’s Global Gateway South opens. Considered to be one of the world’s largest and most technologically advanced ocean and rail container terminals.

2000: Completion of Pier 400 Dredging and Landfill Program, the largest such project in America, a significant milestone in position the port to accommodate the tremendous growth in international trade well into the 21st century.