Volume 85 No. 11
November 2021
“The Voice of Port Industries” @VAmaritime
INDUSTRY LEADERS AWARDED BY VMA
NORFOLK | On December 7, 2021, the members of the Virginia Maritime Association convened in-person and virtually for their Annual Business Meeting. The Association’s activities were highlighted, including involvement of the VMA and its partners to ensure growth of Virginia’s maritime supply chain industries in the past year and plans for the next. Examples included expansion projects at the Port of Virginia, coordinating offshore wind farm developments, hosting a virtual “Port Day” between legislators and members, raising over $100,000 towards charity, and more.
Wayne Coleman, John Reinhart, Bill Burket, and Vance Hull are presented awards by David White and Mike Coleman
“Our membership is our foundation,” said exiting VMA President Mike Continue Reading on Page 3
NAVIGATIONAL SUMMIT 2021 NORFOLK | Port stakeholders convened on November 9, 2021, for the 16th Annual Hampton Roads Navigational Summit, hosted by the Virginia Maritime Association at the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club to address the progress on the Port Priority Projects. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Virginia Port Authority revealed that they are making great headway towards completing these projects by 2025. The Thimble Shoal Channels are already being dredged, the design of the cover for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is being finalized, the Craney Island Eastward Expansion dikes are being built up, and the James River and Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River are being maintained with detailed plans for deepening as well. Some of the authorizations for the deepening projects and Craney Island have been in place since the 1960’s. “We are so proud of the partnerships achieved these past 16 years,” said Colonel Brian Hallberg, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, referring to the efforts of those participating in the 16-year-old Navigational Summit. “No challenge will deter us from making our ports Wider, Deeper, and Safer.” The mission of the summit is to ensure 24-7 unrestricted navigation through the port of Hampton Roads with a focus on dredging the waterways to depths best able to handle the increasing number of larger vessels. Through the collaboration fostered at the summit and across the maritime community, unrestricted navigation for Virginia’s waterways can be achieved, allowing the port to reach its fullest potential as a driver of regional and statewide economic activity. “The Port of Virginia has done an amazing job handling the larger
INSIDE THIS EDITION h TEConomy MAritime Report Identifies 4 Opportunities (2)
Stephen Powell, Rear Admiral Dickey, Mike Coleman, Will Fediw, Kristen Muzko, Andrew Sinclair, Richard Klein, and Brian Hallberg.
numbers of cargo coming through the port,” said Mike Coleman, President of the Virginia Maritime Association. “Virginia is poised to collect a greater market share of waterborne commerce.” According to the Virginia Port Authority’s CEO and Executive Director Stephen Edwards, the port is in a good place when it comes to handling the container shipments referred to as TEUs. In October, the Port was up 16% over the previous year and has plans in place to increase the number of TEUs the port can handle up to 5 million. “We will have greater capability than any other port can offer on the East Coast,” Edwards said before revealing plans for projects like increasing the rail capacity at Norfolk International Terminals in 3-5 years. “Our future is building inland capacity, distribution, and road networks, it’s making our waterways
h Port to Expand NIT Railyard; Driving Future Capacity to Over 1 Million Containers (3)
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h Association in Action (6) h New Members (7)
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