Port of Virginia eyes completion of channel deepening this year

The Port of Virginia said it is on its way to having the deepest channels on the East Coast, enabling the port to accommodate two-way traffic of ultra-large container vessels.

The channels will be 55 feet deep. Work on the biggest section, the Thimble Shoal West Channel, is 99% complete, with full completion anticipated this fall. The other section, the Thimble Shoal East Channel, is 90% complete, but full completion will come this spring. When that happens, the port will work with the Virginia Pilots Association, the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to update the region’s navigation charts, rules and buoys to reflect the improved channel, the Port of Virginia said.

“In less than a year, we’ll be able to handle two-way traffic of the biggest ships afloat. Having the wide channel allows for consistent vessel flow, it will increase our efficiency and further reduce any downtime at our berth,” Stephen A. Edwards, Virginia Port Authority’s CEO and executive director, said in a Tuesday news release. 

“Cargo owners, ocean carriers and logistics providers are closely following our progress. Many of the ocean carriers that call Virginia have new, larger vessels that are coming into service within the next year,” Edwards continued. “We are telling them that they can bring those vessels to Virginia without concern for channel width or overhead draft restrictions. We don’t have any bridges in the Norfolk Harbor.”