At Norfolk, NS breaks coal transload mark

Norfolk Southern said it has loaded the largest volume cargo in the history of its Pier 6 coal transloading facility at Lamberts Point in Norfolk, Va. Early on Jan. 12, NS finished loading 159,941.45 net tons (145,097.931 metric tons) of metallurgical coal into the M/V Cape Dover,

destined for China. That quantity can be used to make about 207,000 tons of steel, or enough to build 230,000 automobiles, NS said. 

The coal was shipped by Xcoal Energy & Resources in conjunction with CONSOL Energy, from mining operations in Virginia, in 1,561 railroad coal cars. T. Parker Host was the ship agent/broker. NS employees loaded the 951-foot vessel in fewer than 48 hours in order to accommodate a tight schedule for the receiver, the Class I railroad said. 

“This is the kind of capacity and service that makes Pier 6 the preeminent coal transloading facility on the East Coast,” said Mark H. Bower, NS group vice president, export, metallurgical, and industrial coal marketing. “Worldwide demand for U.S. coal for utilities and coke plants continues to grow, and the railroad is the reliable and safe link that, with our coal production and sales partners, brings that energy to market around the globe.” 

Norfolk Southern has been transferring coal and coke from railroad cars into ocean-going export and domestic vessels in the Lamberts Point area since 1884, when it opened Pier 1. Pier 6 opened for business in 1962. Most of the coal moving through Pier 6 originates in southwest Virginia, Southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.