Port of Virginia seeks agreement with U.S. Customs on extended gates

Partnership is the latest in a series of actions aimed at improving productivity at the port.    A spike in congestion at a main container terminal is having ripple effects on operations at other Port of Virginia facilities, prompting another round of actions to help importers, exporters and shuttle-truck drivers exchange cargo with fewer delays.
   On Thursday, the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) said it has applied to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for permission to pay overtime for CBP officers to accommodate the ports expanded operating hours.
   A two-year-old program authorized by Congress to help CBP stretch its resources allows ports, airports and other local entities to reimburse CBP for overtime or extra manpower during regular shifts. At seaports, Customs officers are responsible for conducting non-intrusive inspections of targeted containers using imaging technology and operating radiation portal monitors that all trucks must pass through before exiting terminals or transferring containers to on-dock trains.
   The program is designed to give the agency and local communities the flexibility to address fluctuations in volume and expedite traffic. The VPA is working with CBP on financial arrangements for the partnership.
   The operations team at Virginia International Terminals also ordered two more top loaders for Portsmouth Marine Terminal, which is rapidly filling up with overflow cargo from the Virginia International Gateway (VIG) terminal. Two other top-handlers are scheduled to be delivered to the Portsmouth facility in mid-April, the VPA said.
   Next week, a contractor will begin developing a yard at VIG dedicated to rail containers, which is intended to improve the efficiency of the semi-automated cranes because there will be fewer boxes to sort through to make a lift for a truck transfer. Permits and engineering plans for the lot are in place.
   Those decisions are intended to improve cargo fluidity in the months ahead, as well as address the productivity problems in the past 18 months stemming from rapid cargo growth.
   The port authority said again it is working to provide near-term relief to shippers, motor carriers and transportation intermediaries. The extra measures are required because winter storms that closed the port for several days last month created pent-up ocean deliveries and overwhelmed VIG with cargo.
   Two ocean carriers are scheduled this weekend to evacuate loaded export and empty containers at VIG to reduce stack density. Port officials have asked them to adjust their load plans to take as many containers as possible during their scheduled visit, spokesman Joe Harris said.
   Containers stored at Portsmouth Marine Terminal are being given two extra days of free time for Thursday and Friday this week to allow carriers to make arrangements for pick-up before storage fees kick in.
   On Thursday, the Portsmouth Marine Terminal gate was closed at 4 p.m. to all in-bound truck traffic to allow operations to complete service to motor carriers already on the property.
   From 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. on March 20, Portsmouth Marine Terminal only received empty containers from select ocean carriers. During that two-hour period, the terminal did not accept any loaded export cargo. 
   Portsmouth Marine Terminal was mostly idle until last fall, when officials decided to reopen a portion of the facility to receive vessels and store containers to take pressure off of the Virginia International Gateway.
   In the past 10 days, the Port of Virginia has taken steps to free up more chassis and acquire new ones, reduce free dwell time for export boxes, add weekend gates and extend gate hours, arranged for barge service to shuttle containers from VIG to Portsmouth Marine Terminal, and redirect some smaller vessels to the shallower berth at Portsmouth to free up resources at other terminals.
    Find recent stories about all the maneuvering at the Port of Virginia in the “Port Congestion Special Coverage” section of AmericanShipper.com.