Port of Virginia hosts its first 14,000-TEU vessel

The CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt’s Virginia port call broke a short-lived record for ship size that was established in May, when the 13,000-TEU COSCO Development set the new high water mark in Norfolk Harbor.    The CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, a 14,400-TEU capacity vessel that’s the largest ship to ever visit the U.S. East Coast, called for the first time ever at the Port of Virginia on Aug. 28.
   The Theodore Roosevelt’s Virginia port call broke a short-lived record for ship size that was established in May, when the 13,000-TEU COSCO Development set the new high water mark as it sailed into the Norfolk Harbor. Since then, slightly larger vessels have come and gone during the summer.
   “This is a notable step-up in size. In Virginia, the big-ship era started in May and we continue to see larger and larger vessels,” Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director John. F. Reinhart said in a statement. “The $670 million we are investing to expand Virginia International Gateway and Norfolk International Terminals will enhance our big-ship readiness and our ability to safely and efficiently handle their increasing cargo loads.”
   On Monday morning, a pilot guided the 1,200-foot-long vessel through the harbor to Virginia International Gateway, where nearly 3,000 containers are to be loaded onto and unloaded from the ship.
   “This vessel is taking full advantage of our 50-foot channels, but its arrival also highlights our deeper, wider safer effort,” Reinhart explained. “Our goal is to widen our channels and add five feet of depth. This would allow for two-way ship traffic and create the necessary depth – 55 feet – for these ships to load heavy and safely operate with the necessary river-floor clearance.”
   The CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, named after the 26th President of the United States, also recently set a new record for the largest vessel to ever transit the newly expended Panama Canal.
   According to ocean carrier schedule database BlueWater Reporting, the ship is deployed on the OCEAN Alliance’s new weekly Asia-U.S. East Coast South Atlantic Express (SAX) service. Commenced in early April, the SAX loop operates with 11 vessels – four from CMA CGM, two from COSCO and five from OOCL – with an average capacity of 13,386 TEUs. The full port rotation of the service is Hong Kong, Yantian, Ningbo, Shanghai, Colon (Panama), Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston and back to Hong Kong.
   “The port that successfully moves ships at deep drafts acts as a magnet for international commerce,” Reinhart said. “Every additional foot of draft on a containership represents millions of dollars’ worth of cargo.”