Deep dive
The Port of Virginia has set the stage to offer the widest and deepest harbor on the East Coast by 2025, with the recent widening of Thimble Shoal Channel West allowing for two-way traffic for all vessels, including ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs). Completed in March, the shipping channel is now as much as 1,400 feet […]
Making headway
With recent expansions nearly complete, and a new Southwest Virginia port under consideration, it’s been a busy year for the commonwealth’s inland ports. The industrial market from Hampton Roads to Richmond has expanded in terms of industrial space available, says Devon Anders, president of the Harrisonburg-based InterChange Group and chair of the Virginia Maritime Association’s [...]
Letter from the Publisher
In the wake of the tragic collapse of Baltimore‘s Francis Scott Key Bridge, the Port of Virginia stepped up to offer its support and immediately began taking on any cargo needing to be redirected our way. Apparently caused by a power outage aboard the container ship that collided with the Key Bridge, the accident shut […]
Top Five May 2024
The top five most-read daily news stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from March 13 to April 12 were led by news that Altria would sell a large portion of its stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev. 1 | Altria plans to sell 35 million Anheuser-Busch InBev shares The Henrico County-based Fortune 500 tobacco manufacturer holds about 197 […]
Port of Virginia
The Port of Virginia’s economic impact rose significantly in fiscal 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, moving up from $100.1 billion in output sales in 2021 to $124.1 billion, according to a report prepared by William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business for the Virginia Port Authority. The port […]
Fed’s Fifth District economy grows slightly
The economy in the Federal Reserve‘s Fifth District (a multistate region including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland) grew slightly in recent weeks, according to the latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, released April 17. Published eight times per year, the Beige Book is based on anecdotal information about economic conditions [&hellip[...]
Port of Va. is already handling cargo diverted from Baltimore
On Tuesday afternoon, workers at the Port of Virginia’s Virginia International Gateway facility in Portsmouth unloaded cargo that had been scheduled for the Baltimore Harbor before a container ship struck and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in a fatal accident that has left the shipping channel closed for at least several weeks to come. […]
Baltimore bridge collapse will drive ships to Port of Va.
After a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing the bridge to collapse and possibly claiming multiple lives, ships bound for the Port of Baltimore will be diverted to other ports, primarily the Port of Virginia and the Port of New York and New Jersey. The Virginia Port Authority, […]
Widening of Port of Virginia shipping channel is complete
The Port of Virginia’s shipping channel is now wide enough for two ultra-large container vessels to pass at the same time, concluding a significant part of the $450 million dredging project to make the port the widest and deepest harbor on the East Coast. According to the Friday announcement, the port expects to finish the […]
Biden executive order on Chinese cranes affects Port of Va.
President Joe Biden issued an executive order Wednesday addressing cybersecurity and espionage concerns over Chinese-made cranes in use at U.S. ports, including the Port of Virginia. Additionally, the Biden administration announced a plan to invest $20 billion on infrastructure security at U.S. ports, including support for domestic manufacturing of ship-to-shore cranes. National security concerns [...]
Va.’s maritime industry has $8B economic impact, report says
Virginia’s non-military maritime industry was responsible for one in five jobs in Virginia and more than $8 billion in state and local taxes during fiscal 2022, according to a recent study conducted by William & Mary. The Virginia Maritime Association and the Virginia Port Authority commissioned the study to demonstrate the industry’s economic impact. The […]
Transportation 2023: JOSEPH P. ‘JOE’ RUDDY
In 2021, Ruddy was tapped a second time to be COO for the Virginia Port Authority’s nonprofit affiliate that operates the Port of Virginia, one of the state’s chief economic drivers. Ruddy, who held the same job from 2011 to 2014, is responsible for operations, information technology, safety, security, capacity expansion projects and maintenance at […]




















