California's US$30 per TEU container tax bill has been withdrawn when it was clear it faced the governor's veto, reported the Long Beach Press Telegram.

Senate Bill 974, drafted by the Democratic Long Beach senator Alan Lowenthal would have collected US$30 per TEU at Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland, America's three busiest ports.

Sen Lowenthal said that he and Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to work together to draft a final version of the bill between now and January.

Opponents included retailers like Target, Wal-Mart and Home Depot, who were joined by ocean carriers and the farm lobby who fought the fee from its inception, arguing it would result in cargo diversion.

The Waterfront Coalition, the big American retail lobby, called the fee "illegal tax" and said that such taxes would face court challenges.

4,500-TEU containership aground off Mexico's Lazaro Cardenas

A 4,500-TEU containership operated by Maersk has run aground outside the Lazaro Cardenas container terminal on the Mexican west coast.

The incident happened in bad weather, which is delaying efforts to re-float the vessel, reports the UK Shipping Times.

The shipping company said the vessel does not seem to be damaged and power to her reefers have been maintained.

The vessel is on charter to Maersk for eight years. She was built for the German firm Reederei Hermann Wulff at the Stocznia Gdynia SA shipyard in 2005.