Post by FUSION on Nov 30, 2014 21:54:10 GMT -5
Port thankful as volume heads toward record, By Robert McCabe. The Virginian-Pilot. November 30, 2014
While many are enjoying what’s left of a long Thanksgiving weekend, some longshoremen are not.
The Virginia Port Authority’s terminals were closed Thursday for the holiday but were scheduled to handle about 20 vessels from Friday through today.
The port was scheduled to handle three massive container ships, along with a couple of other vessels, on Friday alone: the MSC Maria Elena, which can carry about 9,200 containers measured in 20-foot units; the CMA CGM Attila, with a capacity of 8,500 units; and the APL Latvia, about 8,110 units, according to midweek listings on Virginia International Terminals’ website. VIT is the authority’s operations arm.
The “bunching” of bigger ships at the port’s terminals is one of the factors contributing to ongoing congestion challenges.
While container volumes generally begin to dip after Dec. 1, continuing backlogs on the West Coast as well as the generally improving economy make the situation variable, Port Authority spokesman Joe Harris said.
“It’s just a busy time of year,” said Harris, who added that container volumes are tracking toward a calendar-year record.
From Monday through Dec. 26, more than 160 vessels are scheduled to call at the port’s terminals, VIT’s website shows.
NOTE: What does this mean: drivers get ready for MORE backups at NIT.
P.S. I like how La De Da (Mr. Harris) explains this. I'll be using the phone a lot this week.
*Action is better than suffering in silence.*
