By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOTThe clock is ticking, and if all goes as scheduled, in six years the Panama Canal extension will be completed, thereby removing constraints that exist for trade today. Wasting no time, the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) with terminals in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Front Royal; and A.P. Moller-Maersk Group with its one-year old APM Terminal in Portsmouth, are positioning their facilities to compete with other ports on the Eastern seaboard for the post-Panamax ships that will be traversing the canal to East Coast ports. A huge advantage for the Commonwealth‘s seaports (excluding VPA’s inland port) is all are situated on one of the deepest harbors on the East Coast. In recent years VPA has experienced significant growth in container traffic, although in 2007 VPA handled 2,046,285 teus, down slightly from 2006 figures of 2,128,388 teus.
“For 2008 (through July), we are 1.3% ahead of where we were at the same point in 2007,” reports Joe Harris, VPA spokesman. “This year’s volumes have been even or up slightly and we are forecasting 1.5% growth. That said, world cargo forecast numbers were recently revised – downward – and we’re beholden to forces beyond our control.” As of July, the Port of Virginia’s export/import trade balance was 60/40. Since APM Terminal is private, traffic figures are not available. Port officials there, however, did reveal that the slowing of the economy has resulted in flat imports across the terminal network. Like seaports worldwide, VPA is not immune to the impact of the skyrocketing price of fuel. “We have seen our operating costs go up and have had to adjust our rates accordingly,” Harris admits. “We haven’t seen our volumes fall off any, although there has been a reduction in the number of ship calls.” One reason for the reduction in ship calls is steamship lines are working together or partnering wherever possible to find economical solutions for services that may have lost some of their traditional demand. “Some lines are also introducing larger vessels into their services and are now ganging the business of two or three vessels into one,” Harris explains. Meanwhile, the port‘s rail business has been growing steadily over the last five years. “In the last two years, we have seen strong demand for export rail service,” he says. VPA TERMINAL IMPROVEMENTS So where does VPA stand now in preparing its terminals for more growth? Port officials point to a comprehensive list that includes international marketing efforts, modern and expanding facilities, the growing community of warehouses and distribution centers, its road and rail connections to major Midwest markets, and those natural assets it shares with APM Terminal – deep water (50 feet), no bridges, a harbor with a sand bottom, readily available dredge spoil deposit area and the fact they’re 18 miles from open ocean.
“Another important factor is we have room to grow with the development of Craney Island, which will be the VPA’s fourth deep-water marine terminal and one of the world’s most modern when it opens in 10 years,” says Harris. Preliminary engineering for construction at Craney Island is underway. “The vision for the port is to become the top facility on the U.S. East Coast have international recognition of this and to have that reputation be built upon customer service, throughput, modern facilities, Virginia as a business destination, and economical rates,” he says. Meanwhile $32 million in improvements to renovate and expand Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) North and South are now complete. This includes three new 100-foot-gauge Suez-class cranes (22 across), which were delivered in May, a 900-linear-foot extension of the berth, and 19 acres of cargo yard. “The cra