Richmond Va. names new port operator

Richmond Va. names new port operator    The Port of Richmond, Va., has selected Port Contractors Inc. (PCI) of New Castle, Del., to serve as its new terminal operator.
   Upon completion of negotiations, PCI will begin operations for the Port of Richmond on Oct. 1.
   The current stevedore at the port, Federal Marine Terminals (Richmond) Inc., announced in June that it would cease operations at the port. A unit of the Montreal-based Fednav Group, it said that with the decision of the port’s primary customer, Independent Container Line, to transfer its port of call to Wilmington, N.C., it had “come to the conclusion that even with some reasonable degree of optimism regarding the potential growth of current business and with some possible new accounts, its presence at the Port of Richmond cannot be economically justified.”
   Major services to Richmond today include Eimskip’s service to Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the Iceland and 64 Express, the short sea service to Hampton Roads.
   PCI was established 85 years ago as a container, breakbulk, heavy lift, and general stevedore-terminal operating company. PCI is privately held and has several operations in multiple locations on the east coast, including Fairless Hills, Pa.; Baltimore; Charleston and Georgetown, S.C.; and Palm Beach, Fla.