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Port of Virginia’s 2022 Cargo Volume Up 5%

[ January 20, 2023   //   ]

Port of Virginia® is posting its most productive year on record having processed more than 3.7 million TEUs in 2022, an increase of 5.1%.
“We made real progress in 2022 and it was another very solid year for volumes,” said Stephen A. Edwards, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. “Our service and performance levels continue to improve and each quarter our truck, chassis, rail and vessel performance metrics advanced.”
The port achieved three of its top four months for container volume in 2022, with trade volumes peaking in May at an all-time high of 341,611 TEUs.
The port’s focus on its sustainability program and becoming a net-zero carbon emissions operation by 2040 also advanced. New capital projects using electric equipment coupled with power purchase agreements from exclusively clean energy production has the port on track – and in some areas ahead of schedule – to meet is 2040 goal.
“To ensure that we remain an economic engine, we are investing billions of dollars to create one of the fastest-growing and most technologically-advanced port complexes in the world,” Edwards said. “Now, we are coupling that investment with a twenty-first century approach to sustainability. The port of Virginia is firmly committed to becoming a net-zero operation by 2040. Since announcing this commitment last year, we have a really good start and are making progress.”
Edwards attributes the successful year to multiple factors: an experienced operations team, constant preparation, efficiency, consistency and the Virginia Model.
“We own and operate the terminals and the Hampton Roads Chassis Pool and this allows for quick decision making that ensures we are doing the right thing for the customer within the capabilities of the operation,” Edwards said. “The users of The Port of Virginia have come to understand the Virginia Model, its benefits and the role it plays in our success cannot be overstated.”
The port is expanding its assets and building the benefits of the Virginia Model by investing in both long- and short-term projects aimed at driving efficiency, capturing more cargo and preparing for the future. Those projects include:
• NIT North: Renovate, expand and modernize the North Berth at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) and create capacity for 1.4 million TEU. This includes installation of new shipto-shore cranes and a reconfigured container stack yard supported by remotely-operated, semi-automated, rail-mounted gantry cranes. This operation will mirror our operations at the South Berth of NIT and Virginia International Gateway. This project will be completed in two phases: phase I in 2025 and phase II in 2027.
• Dredging: Deepening to at least 55 feet and widening the Norfolk Harbor and commercial channels to safely accommodate fully-laden ULCVs and ensure safe, two-way movement of these vessels. Scheduled for completion in 2025.
• NIT Central Rail Yard: Expanding the Central Rail Yard at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) to accommodate 470,000 additional annual TEU. When complete, the terminal will be able to accommodate 1.1 million annual rail TEU and the port will have annual rail TEU capacity of more than 1.8 million units. Scheduled for completion in 2024.
• Offshore Wind: The port is in the process of preparing Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) to become the US East Coast’s logistics hub for the offshore-wind industry. The port has leased PMT to a pair of companies that will use the terminal as the staging and pre-assembly area for the components needed to develop a large-scale offshore wind farm off the

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