Virginia ports sign agreement with Moroccan port

Virginia ports sign agreement with Moroccan port The Virginia Port Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tangiers Mediterranean Special Agency signifying a cooperative effort to build trade between the two ports.
   The agreement focuses on promoting new ocean services and new business between Tangiers and Hampton Roads. It covers the exchange of information, experience and expertise between the two ports in the fields of infrastructure, maritime transportation and international trade. Further, it establishes a system of communication in an effort to improve the services that link the ports.
   Jerry A. Bridges, VPA’s executive director, said the agreement will contribute to an increase of business between Morocco and the United States, and noted a free trade agreement between the two countries took effect in January 2006.
   “We want to develop key alliances with major players along the Suez route as we are the port on the U.S. East Coast that is most likely to benefit from development of that trade because of our deep water.”
   The Port Tangiers Med complex is a multimodal platform that is composed of container and roll-on/roll-off terminals, a passenger terminal and a logistics free zone. The first container terminal offering a capacity of 1.5 million TEU opened in July 2007. A second container terminal is scheduled to open this summer that will boost capacity in Tangiers to 8 million TEUs.
   The Port of Virginia’s trade with Morocco amounted to $193 million in 2007. The port handled 2,218 TEUs to and from Morocco in 2007, which was roughly 22 percent of all container trade between Morocco and the U.S. East Coast last year.