The Port of Virginia put four new, all-electric, Suez-class ship-to-shore container cranes into service at Norfolk International Terminals in late January. The cranes will add additional capacity to safely handle simultaneous calls of ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs).
The addition allows the port to accommodate four ULCVs at once. It also brings the number of ship-to-shore cranes at the port to 29.
“This is the kind of infrastructure investment that lets ocean carriers and cargo owners using The Port of Virginia know they can grow their volumes here,” Sarah J. McCoy, Virginia Port Authority interim CEO and executive director, said. “Our berth capability is growing. We now have four ULCV berths and we are quickly heading toward having the berth capacity to handle five ultra-large container vessels at once.”
The installation of additional cranes coincides with the dredging of Virginia’s commercial shipping channels and Norfolk Harbor to 55 feet deep. Work is expected to be completed this month and will make the Port of Virginia the deepest port on the East Coast.
The Virginia Port Authority, a political subdivision of the commonwealth of Virginia, owns and operates four general cargo facilities through its private operating subsidiary Virginia International Terminals and leases Virginia International Gateway and Richmond Marine Terminal.