Port of Virginia Secures Funding for Channel Deepening
The Port of Virginia and the US Army Corps of Engineers today signed the agreement committing the federal government to begin its financial investment in the construction effort to widen and deepen the commercial shipping channels and Norfolk Harbor.With a group of federal and state officials in attendance, Virginia Port Authority CEO Stephen A. Edwards and Col. Brian P. Hallberg, the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Norfolk District commander, signed the Project Partnership Agreement.
Port of Virginia Gets Final Funding for Channel Dredging
The recently approved federal work plan contains the final piece of funding for The Port of Virginia’s dredging project that will create the deepest and widest shipping channels on the U.S. East Coast by late 2024.The work plan, released last week by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, allocates funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) and contains $72 million for the dredging project. The federal government and the port agreed to a 50-50 cost share of the project at its outset in 2015 when the U.S.
VA Offshore Wind: A Strong Foundation
Virginia officials have established a well-planned, extensive strategy to build out an offshore wind industry, including wind towers for electricity generation and the supply chain to support that extensive infrastructure and operations. The State’s big picture is ambitious: developing 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2028.As currently envisioned, VA’s offshore wind development will likely start this year with two 8-megawatt wind turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. This is a Dominion Energy pilot undertaken in partnership with the Danish wind company Orsted.
Shipping Alliances Demand Aggressive Oversight -FMC Chairman
The restructuring of the ocean carrier alliance system, triggered by merger and acquisition activities by shipping companies, is a logical business development, but if not carefully monitored and regulated, could also represent a move toward reduced services for shippers, said Mario Cordero, Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). Cordero articulated this concern during remarks he made at the 2016 International Trade Symposium hosted by the Virginia Maritime Association in Norfolk. Cordero participated on a panel entitled Ocean Carrier Mergers & Acquisitions.
Maersk Exec says Ports need to Prepare for Flood of Cargo
According to a report in the Virginian Pilot, the North American head of shipping conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk Group called for increased investment in U.S. ports and said planning is already under way for the second phase of the new terminal his company is building in Portsmouth, Va. James R. Bruner, president and chief executive officer of Maersk Inc., said North American ports need to vastly increase their capacity to handle a flood of cargo containers expected from Asia in coming years. He spoke Thursday evening at the annual banquet of the Virginia Maritime Association, formerly the Hampton Roads Maritime Association, at the Norfolk Marriott Waterside and Waterside Convention Center. The number of containers moving to and from North America grew 13 percent last year, he said.
