Yesterday morning, the port’s operations team began overseeing the move of three RTGs (rubber-tire gantry cranes) to PMT from Norfolk International Terminals (NIT). One-by-one the RTGs are being loaded onto a barge and floated across the Elizabeth River; the first crane arrived shortly before noon. The focus is to have two of the RTGs ready for use in the gate operation starting first-thing on Thursday, March 26.
Moreover, the port expects to begin taking delivery of seven new top-loaders early next week. Like the RTGs, the top-loaders will be used in the container operations at PMT. Six of the top-loaders will be placed into service each day at PMT ensuring that an extra unit is always available in the event that one of the machines goes down.
The addition of this equipment will increase the lift capacity at PMT, help build consistency to the container operation there and reduce wait-times for motor carriers. Further, by making greater use of PMT, operations will be able to reduce some of the pressure on the gates at NIT and Virginia International Gateway (VIG).
The move of the RTGs and expected delivery date of the top-loaders were announced by the port last week in Congestion Mitigation Updates #7 and #6, respectively.
At VIG on Friday, March 27, the port will break ground on the rail cargo yard. When completed in June, this project will separate rail and truck cargo and help operations keep the main stacks at the terminal dedicated solely
to truck cargo.