Posted on July 15, 2020
Each time a huge merchant ship, laden with stacks of shipping containers, is seen cleaving the waters of Hampton Roads or when a new or refurbished military warship is launched locally for sea duty, the story the Virginia Maritime Association is being told.
In February 1920, 56 business and port leaders signed a charter to form the Norfolk Maritime Exchange to advance the interests of the local ports. That group morphed into the Virginia Maritime Association in the 1970s, during the consolidation of the Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News port terminals.
Now celebrating its centennial year, the VMA can boast of the third-largest commercial port on the East Coast, one that remains a strategic port for the military and includes several private marine terminals. It operates under purview of the Virginia Port Authority, which manages and markets the state-owned facilities.
With ongoing widening and deepening of the ship channel at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and construction of a new tunnel at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, the alliance is looking forward to its next 100 years.
“Ships have gotten so big that the channel is sometimes restricted to one-way ship traffic,” says David C. White, VMA executive vice president since 2018. “Once the widening and deepening is complete, we can get back to having two-way traffic in all but the worst weather.”
“We will reclaim our title of having the deepest water on the East Coast,” White said. “It will help us attract more ship calls, make us more competitive and drive economic development to move more freight and people across the Hampton Roads area and across the Commonwealth.”
Several major events had been planned by VMA to commemorate its centennial year, White said, but the coronavirus threat shuttered most of them. Like many businesses, the association has had to adapt to a virtual business model, via telework and work-from-home arrangements.
Only a few hours a day are open to enable shipping agents to complete necessary in-person document certifications.
The association, however, was able to commission artist Adam Stanton to paint a commemorative mural of people and images depicting 100 years of progress on the side of its three-story headquarters building at 236 E. Plume Street, Norfolk.
Among its highest accomplishments, VMA credits prevention of the sale of state port facilities in 2012, ongoing widening and deepening of ship channels, and the erection of the first two offshore wind turbines 27 miles off the Virginia coast.
“When the components of offshore wind are transported, we’ll see Virginia as a hub for the assembly and load-out of components for construction of offshore wind projects and for the ongoing operations and maintenance of offshore wind fields, not only off Virginia but up and down the East Coast,” White said. “This is an expansion of the maritime industry that will translate into thousands of additional jobs.
“There’s more activity going on in our waterways now than has ever happened in our port history that I can recall. Being in existence for 100 years is a statement of stability.”
Founded: Feb. 13, 1920, in Norfolk, as the Norfolk Maritime Exchange, by a coalition of business and maritime interests
Headquarters: 236 E. Plume St, Norfolk
About us: Primary advocate for the interests of the maritime supply chain industry, influencing major developments related to international trade and port operations for the past 100 years. Mission statement: “Promote, protect, and encourage international and domestic commerce through Virginia’s ports.”
Current leaders: Executive vice president (CEO) David C. White; president of the VMA board of directors, Michael W. Coleman; and chairman of the board, Scott Wheeler
Milestones reached: Consolidation of Norfolk, Newport News and Portsmouth port terminals in early 1970s; commencement in 2019 of widening and deepening shipping channel and helping to finance offshore wind industry. Prevented the sale of the state port facilities to a private company in 2012.
Obstacles overcome: Brought competitors together to work for the betterment of the ports by establishing ongoing committees; overcame lack of awareness of the significance of the maritime industry through economic impact studies and creation of new chapters in other parts of the state; convinced the General Assembly to make significant investments in infrastructure.
Keys to longevity: “Our association’s history underscores the legacy of the maritime industry in Hampton roads, as well as to the state and nations economy,” White said. “As our industry continues to evolve, the Virginia Maritime Association will remain at the forefront, steering and shaping our future … always with a commitment to our mission, our members, and to our commonwealth.”
What’s next: Development of new offshore wind industry; continued growth statewide and beyond.
Contact information: www.vamaritime.com, 757-628-2678; VP communications, ashley@vamaritime.com
Source: pilotonline
