This sounds like the threads are blocked, not locked, waiting on this guy's connect call to finish. AFAIK the usual reasons for a connect call to block are network or DNS issues, although IIOP can do some funny stuff. My point is, I suggest you first check your IIOP settings to make sure you are connecting to the right server.
[Message sent by forum member 'matterbury' (matterbury)]
http://forums.java.net/jive/thread.jspa?messageID=361150