Virginia International Gateway growth continues

The Virginia Port Authority plans to launch the Navis N4 terminal operating system this weekend at Virginia International Gateway, which also will see new container stacks coming online this month and in June.    The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) on Saturday is planning to launch the Navis N4 terminal operating system at the Virginia International Gateway terminal (VIG) in Portsmouth that is already in use at Norfolk International Terminals, Portsmouth Marine Terminal and Richmond Marine Terminal.
   “This system seamlessly links together all of the terminal’s operations and allows for greater data sharing and collection, which will drive efficiency,” Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director John Reinhart said.
   In addition, three new container stacks will be coming online at VIG next week. “This will increase useful capacity at VIG by 20 percent, and in June, three more stacks will come online,” Reinhart said.
   The Port of Virginia also released its cargo throughput figures for the month of April, during which it handled 219,281 TEUs, a decline of 2.6 percent from last April.
   During the month, compared to April 2017:
     • Loaded imports totaled 97,607 TEUs, down 3.5 percent;
     • Loaded exports totaled 86,251 TEUs, up 0.7 percent;
     • Empty imports totaled 2,112 TEUs, down 40.2 percent;
     • And empty exports totaled 33,311 TEUs, down 4.6 percent.
   However, for the first four months of 2018, the Port of Virginia handled 910,772 TEUs, up 0.5 percent from the corresponding 2017 period.
   Looking ahead, Reinhart said, “We expect volumes to increase, according to forecast, and remain steady as summer’s peak season nears.”