Posted on July 31, 2024
NORFOLK, Va. — Spurred in part by the closure of the Baltimore port in March, the Port of Virginia continues to grow, as it moved more cargo by some measures this fiscal year than the year before while it had the second-best fiscal year performance in port history.
The facilities handled 12.9% more general cargo tonnage (13,787,673) and 5% more ships (1,733) in fiscal year 2024 than they did in 2023. They also moved 2% more TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit, a way to measure the combined volume of shipping containers than the year before), at just under 3.5 million.
The port’s fiscal years run from July 1 to end of June.
“Our modern, semi-automated terminals, combined with our unique business model, where we both own and operate our terminals, proved their value during the surge of cargo that came our way because of the tragic bridge collapse that closed the Port of Baltimore for nearly three months,” Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director Stephen Edwards said in a news release. “We processed the diverted cargo without any degradation of service and clearly demonstrated our position as the most modern gateway in America.”
At the beginning of the year, the port announced that its all-electric fleet of moving and unloading equipment would be powered by clean energy through a power purchase agreement with Dominion Energy.
At the time, its facilities were operating 116 electric stack cranes, 27 ship-to-shore cranes and four electric rail cranes. The move reduces the carbon footprint of transporting goods by up to 45 percent per container, according to a release.
And to help provide that clean energy, POV’s offshore wind energy logistics hub saw its first delivery of parts to begin construction of Dominion’s offshore wind facility in October 2023.
In September of that year, the port began renovating one of the terminals at the Norfolk International Terminals to allow it to handle larger ships.
In March, the port announced the completion of a channel widening project intended to to allow ultra-large container vessels two paths of travel through the water. That move could cut down on the amount of time such ships spend in port by 15 percent.
It’s part of a larger $450 million project slated for completion in fall 2025 intended to give the port the widest, deepest channels on the East Coast.
“The work the port team did during fiscal year 2024 is critical to the progress we are making on the projects that are part of our [$1.4 billion] Gateway Investment Program. We are doing exactly what we set out to do, which is deliver world-class, twenty-first century service to our users, enhance efficiency and capabilities, expand infrastructure, become a more sustainable operation and make inroads into new markets. We are further developing our assets to ensure the needs of our customers and [port] users will not outgrow our capabilities in Virginia.”
— Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director Stephen Edwards
The port saw a 13% increase in the number of rail containers it processed (784,597).
That may be partially due to a new daily rail service connecting the port to Memphis that began in April.
“We welcomed new vessel services to South America and the Indian Subcontinent as well,” Edwards said. “We are collaborating with our customers, port users and partners to open up new markets to meet the needs of those companies that want to grow and diversify their logistics and supply chains.
