Marking the latest development in the Phase II Expansion at Virginia International Gateway, four new STS cranes arrived safely at the terminal in early January 2019. The cranes are the largest in the Americas and able to service the biggest ships calling at the United States today and for the foreseeable future. Please watch the video of this historic project milestone, “Building the Capacity for Greatness.”

Good progress is being made on the $320 million Phase II Expansion which will double Virginia International Gateway’s capacity to more than two million TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent Container Units). Four newly-constructed inbound truck gates and the first of two newly-configured rail bundles, served by two semi-automated cantilever rail-mounted gantries, are now operational. In addition, the 800-foot expansion of Virginia International Gateway’s wharf is complete and almost all 13 new container stacks supported by 26 new rail-mounted gantry cranes are in service. The project is proceeding on schedule with completion scheduled for mid-2019.

The Port of Virginia handled record volumes during calendar year 2018, at 2.85 million TEUs. Further enhancing the Port’s ability to effectively serve their ocean carrier customers, full Federal authorization was secured in 2018 for the ‘Wider, Deeper, Safer’ effort, a strategic project to deepen the Norfolk Harbor to 55 feet and widen portions of the commercial navigation channels. Together with the Phase II Expansion at Virginia International Gateway, the Port of Virginia is well positioned to become the deepest and safest port on the U.S. East Coast capable of handling the increasingly large container ships that underpin the next evolution in international trade.