The International Longshoremen’s Association announced this morning that it would refuse to unload cargo from Hanjin ships. Later in the day, it reversed itself.

At issue is a reported $1 million the South Korean carrier owes the union for container royalties that fund port worker benefits.

The thing is, no Hanjin vessel has called on an east coast or gulf coast port where ILA members work since the carrier filed for bankruptcy on August 31, so the pronouncement was essentially moot from the beginning. ILA officials said its members had no problem handling Hanjin cargo on board vessels of other carriers, such as Hanjin’s partners in the CKYHE Alliance—COSCO, “K” Line, Yang Ming and Evergreen Line.

So, any Hanjin containers that arrived at ILA ports since the bankruptcy filing were—as far as we know—offloaded and handled by ILA members in the normal course of business.

Much ado about nothing.