The Coastal Virginia offshore wind project has brought plenty of traffic to the Port of Virginia that has seen a surge in breakbulk throughput. 

Since October last year, and the arrival of the first shipment of components for the project, the transformation of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal into a logistics hub has been ongoing. This transformation and activity pushed breakbulk volumes at the port to 83,817 tons in FY 2024, 112.1 per cent above the volumes handled in FY 2023. During June breakbulk tonnage at the port reached 33,152, 185.3 per cent above the volumes handled in June 2023.

Overall, the Port of Virginia closed fiscal year 2024 having processed 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 2 percent increase over fiscal year 2023 and the second-best fiscal year performance in the port’s history.

“The work the port team did during the fiscal year 2024 is critical to the progress we are making on the projects that are part of our [$1.4 billion] Gateway Investment Program,” Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director Stephen Edwards said. “We are doing exactly what we set out to do, which is deliver world-class, twenty-first century service to our users, enhance efficiency and capabilities, expand infrastructure, become a more sustainable operation and make inroads into new markets. We are further developing our assets to ensure the needs of our customers and [port] users will not outgrow our capabilities in Virginia.”

“We welcomed new vessel services to South America and the Indian Subcontinent as well,” Edwards said. “We are collaborating with our customers, port users and partners to open up new markets to meet the needs of those companies that want to grow and diversify their logistics and supply chains.

“Our modern, semi-automated terminals, combined with our unique business model, where we both own and operate our terminals, proved their value during the surge of cargo that came our way because of the tragic bridge collapse that closed the Port of Baltimore for nearly three months. We processed the diverted cargo without any degradation of service and clearly demonstrated our position as the most modern gateway in America.”