POV Sets July Container Record, Advances Capacity-Boosting Projects

Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Served by CSX and Norfolk Southern, POV has handled, on average, more than 282,000 TEUs per month in 2021. The six terminals that comprise POV operate on a combined 1,864 acres, with 19,885 L.F. of berth and 30 miles of on-dock rail.

Served by CSX and Norfolk Southern, POV has handled, on average, more than 282,000 TEUs per month in 2021. The six terminals that comprise POV operate on a combined 1,864 acres, with 19,885 L.F. of berth and 30 miles of on-dock rail.

The Port of Virginia (POV) processed 293,126 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in July, up 32.6% over the prior-year period, it reported on Aug. 17.

This marks POV’s second busiest month of the year and the best July on record, it said. Served by CSX and Norfolk Southern, POV has handled, on average, more than 282,000 TEUs per month in 2021, while advancing multiple capacity-boosting infrastructure projects. The six terminals that comprise POV operate on a combined 1,864 acres, with 19,885 L.F. of berth and 30 miles of on-dock rail.

JULY 2021 POV CARGO, BY THE NUMBERS (2021 vs. 2020)
Total TEUs: 293,126, up 32.6%
Loaded Export TEUs: 81,086, up 18.2%
Loaded Import TEUs: 142,963, up 35.3%
Total Containers: 164,227, up 34.1%
Virginia Inland Port Containers: 2,877, up 45.7%
Total Rail Containers: 57,652, up 45.3%
Total Truck Containers: 99,970, up 28.7%
Total Barge Containers: 6,605, up 30.4%

So far, cargo volume for August is strong, according to CEO and Executive Director Stephen A. Edwards. “We are at the beginning of peak season, and we are anticipating a busy retail season,” he said. “Our customers and the cargo owners using The Port of Virginia will see us adjust operations as necessary to meet demand, maintain efficiency and to ensure the unimpeded flow of cargo across our terminals.”

Port of Virginia Rail Map With Typical Travel Times

Following are highlights of POV’s infrastructure projects:

NIT (Norfolk International Terminals) Central Rail Yard: POV will reconfigure and double the size of the on-dock rail yard. Environmental permitting is under way, and work is scheduled to begin this fall, the port said. In October 2020, POV received a $20.18 million grant from the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program to support construction of eight working tracks—creating two bundles of four tracks each—and a center working area for transferring and staging containers. Associated lead-in tracks will incorporate turnouts and switches from the terminal’s main rail line and vehicle crossings. Additionally, the project will create a return access road that will separate rail dray traffic returning to the container yard from general truck traffic. The total project cost is $44 million. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation is committing $16.7 million and the port is responsible for the $7.4 million balance.

Virginia Inland Port: Rail capacity will nearly double at POV’s intermodal container transfer facility in Front Royal, Va. Operational design is nearing completion with work expected to start in 2022, according to the port.

Dredging: Dredging on the Thimble Shoal West project will resume in November, with an estimated 60 days of work remaining, the port said. The bid for the second phase of dredging—Thimble Shoal East—is complete, and work is set to begin in early 2022. When it wraps up in 2024, the port’s channels will be 55-feet deep and wide enough to accommodate two ULCVs (ultra-large container vessels) in the channel at once, according to POV.

Equipment: Work on two new ship-to-shore cranes continues. They are slated to arrive at NIT in first-quarter 2022 and be operational by the second quarter, the port reported.

Offshore Wind: “Dominion Energy and the port are working on a lease agreement for more than 70 acres at Portsmouth Marine Terminal,” POV said. “The site is to be used as a staging and pre-assembly area for the foundations and turbines to be installed on the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) commercial project.”

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