Port of Virginia reports record spring volumes, readies infrastructure upgrades

Alan Cross, a Port of Virginia representative, told the Port & Industrial Commission on June 24 that the port posted its second‑best March and third‑best April by volume and is monitoring an expected dip from late May through July tied to tariff timing and front‑loading.

Cross said the European Union accounted for roughly 26% of the port’s volume, China about 19%, India about 10% and Vietnam about 8%, and that those shares make the port “less beholden” to changes in U.S.–China trade than some other East Coast ports. He said the port expects to regain competitive advantage on channel depth after a planned deepening is completed later this year and noted a widening project completed last spring.

Cross described several infrastructure projects now underway or finishing: PMT (a terminal project) is complete, and the NIT North optimization is proceeding in two phases, with the first phase expected this fall and the second in 2027. He said the combined effect should increase capacity by about 30% worldwide. On dredging, he said the port will be 55 feet deep after completion “and we’ll take that title back from Charleston.”

Commissioners asked about offshore wind component handling at the port’s PMT facility. A commissioner observed that the nacelles and blades are very large; Cross said “the average tonnage of one of those monopiles is approximately 1,600 tons” and that the port is organized to meet Dominion’s schedules for phase one of load‑outs. He said monopile load‑outs were past the halfway point for phase one, but did not provide a precise capacity number.

Cross said trade negotiations and tariff uncertainty are the “buzzword of the past couple of months,” and that the port is monitoring May volumes to see how front‑loading affects throughput later in the summer.

The Port & Industrial Commission took no formal action on the update; the item was an informational report to the commission.