FY23 APPROPRIATIONS BILL SUPPORTS VIRGINIA INFRASTRUCTURE, NAVIGATION & WORKFORCE

On December 29th, 2022, President Biden signed the $1.66 trillion-dollar FY23 Appropriations Bill into law, funding the federal government for another fiscal year and averting a government shutdown.

Nationally, several programs and projects that are important to our maritime and supply chain industries were funded, to include 300 additional Customs & Border ProtectionPatrol agents, over $34 billion dollars for Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works projects, and $26.7 billion more than the previous year for naval shipbuilding.

In Virginia, our Congressional Delegation was key to securing funding for the following projects and initiatives that will improve our flow of commerce and our competitive position as a state, to include:

Infrastructure

•$30 million for the USACE to support the Craney Island Eastward Expansion in Portsmouth, which will significantly increase the Virginia Port’s capacity by providing for an additional 522 acres of dredged material storage cells, extending the life of the existing Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area by 11 years. This project will also eventually create land for a new port facility adjacent to the Norfolk Harbor Channel.

•$7 million to aid the Virginia Department of Transportation in the design and construction stages of a project to widen a 2.21 mile section of U.S. 121/U.S. 460—the Coalfields Expressway—to a four-lane highway in order to better promote economic development in Buchanan County.

Navigation

•$11.12 million for the USACE to complete necessary operations and maintenance work along the James River Channel in Richmond, as well as $7.04 million for the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal route of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, and $28.6 million for Norfolk Harbor.

•$5 million for the USACE to conduct Preconstruction Engineering and Design (PED) activities for replacement of the North Landing Bridge in Chesapeake.

Education & Workforce

•$1 million for Old Dominion University to establish a Center for Offshore Wind Energy Cyber Vulnerabilities and Threat Identification, which will provide cybersecurity and defense strategies in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, and Newport News.

•$643,000 for Old Dominion University to support the Maritime Skilled Trades Alignment Project (MSTAP) in Suffolk. Specifically, the funding will be used to run a training program focused on curricula standards that are better aligned with public and private maritime skilled trades requirements.

The VMA continues to engage our Congressional Delegation to fund programs and projects critical to our maritime & supply chain industries. While we’re pleased with the results of the FY23 Appropriations Bill, we’re already working on securing funding in the FY24 President’s Budget, to include initial PED funding for the deepening of the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River and other priorities.

FIVE NEW SHIP- TO- SHORE CRANES COMING TO THE PORT OF VIRGINIA

NORFOLK, VA – The Port of Virginia recently finalized the terms of purchase for five new ship-to-shore cranes that are part of an equipment renewal plan that ensures the port’s container terminals and cargo handling equipment are modern and prepared for the future. The new 170-foot tall cranes will be built by Shanghai-based Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., (ZPMC) at a cost of $61.6 million.

“In order to maintain our efficiency and competitive edge, it’s important to be continually upgrading with modern equipment,” said Stephen A. Edwards, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. “These cranes will ensure our lift capacity, berth productivity and the ability to handle multiple ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) simultaneously at our primary container terminals, Virginia International Gateway (VIG) and Norfolk International Terminals (NIT).”

These cranes will be able to accommodate the ULCVs, that are making regular stops in Virginia and even higher-volume ships of the future. Each crane has the capacity reach across a vessel that is 26 containers wide, which is three-to-four containers beyond the reach of most cranes.

Delivery is set for December 2024 with two of the units going to VIG and three to the South Berth at NIT; the port will retire an equivalent number of existing cranes at those facilities. Once in place, the port will have 30 ship-to-shore cranes at work in the Norfolk Harbor and the ability to service the biggest container ships at sea.

“We are in an expansion phase and we must be able to further improve our productivity and capabilities,” Edwards said. “We are showing our customers and port users that they can continue to count on The Port of Virginia as they grow their vessel sizes and cargo volumes.”

Crowley and Danish Offshore maritime leader ESVAGT have announced an agreement to jointly build and operate a service operations vessel (SOV) under a long-term charter with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.

U.S.-based Crowley will manage and crew the SOV to support Siemens Gamesa’s service operations on the Dominion Energy Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. ESVAGT, based in Denmark, will support Crowley with design, construction, crew training and operation services as part of the two companies’ joint venture, CREST Wind, created in 2021 to deliver the best of both worlds: combining European designs and operating practices with the safety and operational expertise of the premier U.S. vessel operator.

The 289-foot vessel will feature state-of the art technologies to augment safety, workability and comfort to support the O&M activities of the wind farm project. It will have modern accommodations for 80 crew and technicians. Consistent with federal law, the vessel will be U.S. built when it enters service in 2026.

“This vessel marks another significant milestone in our overarching, combined capabilities to help develop, construct and serve the U.S. offshore wind market and America’s clean, renewable energy needs,” said Bob Karl, senior vice president and general manager, Crowley Wind Services. “We appreciate Siemens Gamesa’s trust in our capabilities, and we look forward to continuing our work to develop state-of-the-art, purposebuilt vessels to meet sustainable energy demands in the U.S.”

“This first contract in the U.S. is a landmark event for ESVAGT in our quest to help drive the green transition as a global leader of SOV services,” said Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer Soren Karas of ESVAGT. “We are excited to bring our decades of offshore wind experience to bear in a new market through our CREST JV with the premier Jones Act operator, Crowley.

Dominion Energy plans to construct 176 14.7 MW Siemens Gamesa wind turbines and three offshore substations, generating enough clean, renewable energy to power up to 660,000 homes. It would avoid 5 million tons per year of carbon emissions compared with fossil fuel usage for power.

“This is an important step in the development of a skilled offshore workforce in America,” said David Hickey, CEO, Service Americas for Siemens Gamesa. “This charter will enable us to provide top-tier service for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project with a U.S.-built vessel.”

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