MSC offers through B/L to Richmond, VA

   Mediterranean Shipping Co., the second largest container line in the world, has created a bill of lading for shippers originating and terminating cargo at the Port of Richmond, Va., according to the Virginia Port Authority.
   The carrier is essentially making the shipping process more convenient by offering to take responsibility for arranging the inland move between Richmond and the Port of Norfolk, where MSC’s ocean-going vessels pickup and discharge containers, rather than cargo owners having to contract with motor carriers, or other transportation providers, on their own.
   The new service is the culmination of work by the VPA to bring more users to Richmond, which is located on the James River about 100 miles from Atlantic Ocean.
   Last July, the City of Richmond leased the port to the VPA for $375,000 over five years in an effort to resuscitate the moribund facility, which only receives infrequent visits by a small Icelandic ocean carrier.
   The port sits between I-95, a north-south artery, and I-64, an east-west corridor. The CSX rail line also runs by the port. 
   Using its international connections and broad resources, the VPA intends to drive more traffic to the under-utilized port in Richmond by supporting more container-on-barge services to and from its marine terminals in the Hampton Roads region. The strategy is to create an intermodal hub in the center of the state similar to its truck-rail transfer station a 100 miles west in Front Royal, Va., which is connected to Norfolk by the Norfolk Southern railroad.
   James River Barge Service currently provides a weekly service that is subsidized by the VPA in an effort to spur shipper interest and take trucks off I-64. The state plans to increase the frequency of the barge service with the help of a federal grant last year, but there has been no word when that might happen. — Eric Kulisch