A couple of worrisome ripples at a California port Thursday and Friday avoided becoming a bigger wave disrupting the supply of goods to Hawaii.

Dockworkers at the connected ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach largely did not work a shift that began Thursday evening, and continued a major stoppage into a nine-hour daytime shift Friday, before returning to work Friday evening.

The action by the largest shipping industry union on the West Coast, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 13, stirred up concern locally that Hawaii’s crucial supply of everyday goods would be delayed significantly or imperiled, depending on how long the labor problem persisted.

Hawaii government officials estimate that 80% of all goods consumed in the state are imported, with 98% of that coming by ship.

The roughly 24-hour work disruption at Long Beach set back the loading of cargo on a pair of Matson Inc. and Pasha Hawaii ships scheduled to depart for Honolulu this morning.

Matson warned customers about the labor problem as it unfolded, and then delayed the scheduled departure today for its Matsonia containership from Long Beach to 11 a.m. from 4 a.m.

“It is unclear when labor will be made available, but we will update you as information for today’s night shift and subsequent shifts becomes available,” the company said Friday in a message to customers.

Shortly after the Friday evening labor shift started at 2 p.m. Hawaii time, Matson spokesperson Keoni Wagner said the company expected to have full labor for the shift.

“We don’t anticipate any significant delay in delivery of goods,” Wagner said in an email.

Pasha also has a scheduled departure for its Enterprise containership today from Long Beach. A company representative confirmed the resumption of work Friday.

Both Matson and Pasha typically have two ship departures from Long Beach weekly.

Chad Buck, president and CEO of Hawaii Foodservice Alliance LLC, the largest perishable-food distributor in the state, expressed relief at the positive development but said the difficulty earlier was a reminder of how dependent the state is on shipping for food.

“Situations like this drive home the need for Hawaii to produce more of our own food,” he said.

Earlier Friday, Buck was full of concern. “Right now, everybody’s holding their breath over whether the labor will show up for this evening’s shift,” he said while cargo loading operations were idle. “There’s a lot of long lines (trucks loaded with containers at the port) and people worrying.”

Buck also said during the work stoppage, “The professional men and women of the ILWU execute difficult and dangerous jobs day in and day out to keep Hawaii’s food and supplies moving in to our state. My hope is that they are able to staff up to get the ports moving quickly as Hawaii is in no position to miss a sailing.”

ILWU dockworkers and employers have been without a labor contract covering 29 West Coast ports since the last one expired July 1.

The Pacific Maritime Association, an organization handling labor negotiations with the ILWU, said Friday that ILWU Local 13 took a “concerted action to withhold labor” at Los Angeles and Long Beach ports that resulted in widespread worker shortages.

PMA said a majority of jobs for Thursday night’s shift went unfilled, including all jobs for cargo-handling equipment operators needed to load and unload cargo. PMA also said that because not enough workers showed up, those who did were released because of insufficient labor to operate the shipping terminals.

“The action by the Union has effectively shut down the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach — the largest gateway for maritime trade in the United States,” the organization said.

ILWU Local 13 offered a different version of events.

The union announced Friday that it held its monthly membership meeting Thursday evening and that this attracted several thousand members.

Then on Friday, Good Friday, members of the union who observe religious holidays “took the opportunity to celebrate with their families,” the union said in a statement that also said longshore workers remained on the job and cargo operations were ongoing.

The labor disruption on Thursday and Friday followed a March 15 change by the union to avoid staggered shifts during an hourlong meal period, effectively halting cargo terminal operations from noon to 1 p.m. and from 10 to 11 p.m., according to PMA, which said the lack of a contract prevents enforcement of the staggered shift requirement under the former contract.

Hawaii has long had brushes with shipping disruptions and the occasional crippling shutdown.

>> In 2017 a strike by Matson employees was a 50-50 proposition, according to the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific and another union, which agreed to a new contract about six hours before a contract expiration to avert a strike.

>> In 2012, union members picketing the Port of Oakland in California stopped work for a day and delayed one Matson ship.

>> In 2002, PMA shut down all 29 West Coast ports for 10 days over a labor dispute.

>> In 1999, Hawaii stevedores engaged in a work slowdown that was resolved after a new labor contract agreement.

>> In 1997 the ILWU staged a one-day dockside work stoppage.

>> In 1971 a West Coast dockworkers strike crippled Hawaii shipping for more than 100 days.

>> In 1961 a national shipping strike halted by the federal government after 17 days damaged Hawaii’s economy.

>> In 1949 the ILWU in Hawaii carried out a six-month strike that created food shortages and business bankruptcies across the state.