In April, the port handled 179,370 TEU, an increase of 9,726 units when compared with April 2012. Export TEU tallied 96,261 and import TEU were 83,109, an increase of 6.1 and 5.3 percent, respectively.

“Our year-to-date TEU volume is up 6.1 percent, a difference of nearly 40,000 TEUs,” said Rodney W. Oliver, the Virginia Port Authority’s interim executive director. “Our rail containers in April were up 16.4 percent when compared with last April and on a year-to-date level, rail is more than 14 percent ahead of where it was at this time last year. Customers are taking advantage of our strong rail connections and our first-in and last-out vessel calls.”

Also in April:

• April was the sixth consecutive month of double-digit rail growth at the Port of Virginia; the average increase for the six-month period is 19.6 percent.

• Combined, the first for months of 2013 represent the second best start to a calendar year for TEU in the history of the port. The TEU volume handled in that period was just 10,518 units short of 2008’s record-setting mark of 697,562 TEU.

“Virginia’s 50-foot channel was put to the test again this past weekend and again, The Port of Virginia proved it can handle the biggest ships afloat,” said Rodney W. Oliver, executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. For decades, Virginia’s 50-foot-deep shipping channels have accommodated heavily-laden coal colliers, but Saturday’s sailing of the MSC Chicago marked the deepest draught ever needed for a containership.

The MSC Chicago called APM Terminals in Portsmouth Friday, worked through the night and sailed Saturday morning. The Chicago is owned and operated by Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) and deployed in the ocean carrier’s Golden Gate Service, which links the US East Coast to the Far East via the Suez Canal. Virginia is the last North American stop on the Golden Gate Service before it heads back to the Far East.

“With Virginia being the last stop on the service, it allows export cargo to be collected in Virginia, loaded and immediately begin the export leg of the trip,” Oliver said. “This allows exports loaded in Virginia to reach their destination quicker because there are no other East

Coast port calls. The ocean carriers are taking advantage of our 50-foot-deep channels. That depth allows them to load heavy and begin to maximize the economics of operating its big ships.”

“As I send this email, I’m watching the MSC Chicago transit the waters of Virginia as the deepest container ship to ever leave The Port of Virginia, fully loaded with export cargo, with a sailing draft of 49’03” (15 meters)…its deepest draft possible and the deepest a container ship has ever left an East Coast port of the United States in history,” said William Cofer, president of the Virginia Pilot Association in an email to the Virginia Port Authority.

The port previous record was 48.5 feet set by the MSC Roma on March 1, 2012.

? The Chicago, built in 2005, has capacity for 9,178 TEUs.

? She measures approximately 1,102 feet long and 150 feet across the beam (width), or 18 containers across.

? These dimensions earn the Chicago the post-Panamax designation, meaning she is too large to transit the Panama Canal, under the waterway’s current configuration.

? The port rotation of the Golden Gate Service is: Hong Kong, Chiwan, Yantian, Shanghai, Ningbo, Singapore, Salalah, Suez Canal transit, New York, Norfolk, Baltimore, Savannah, Freeport (Bahamas), Charleston, Norfolk, Suez Canal transit, Jeddah, Colombo, Singapore, Chiwan and back to Hong Kong.

1) Which famous ocean liner, Britain’s largest, made its maiden voyage in 1969?
Answer: QE2 (Queen Elizabeth the second)

2) Which TV cartoon cat was frequently chased by Officer Dibble and was loosely based 0n Sergeant Bilko?
Answer: Top Cat (or Boss Cat)

3) In pop music, what is the nickname of Melanie Brown from the Spice Girls?
Answer: Scary (Scary Spice, or Mel B or Mel G)

The Port of Tyne in North East England is one of the UK’s major deep sea ports – a vital trading gateway to six continents.  In 2012 the Port handled a record 6.5 million tonnes of cargo across its five business areas which include conventional and bulk cargoes, car terminals, cruise and ferry and estates.

Award-winning* intermodal and supply chain integrators Central Systems & Automation Ltd will be working with the Port of Tyne to install Autostore – the UK’s leading terminal operating system (TOS). DBIS will provide functionality for the bulk operations, vessel management and berth planning by introducing CommTrac.

As part of a £1 million project designed to implement a new container management system; Autostore will link to a number of existing IT systems including Sage, Destin8 and DBIS. 

The implementation comprises the Autostore container terminal management system (CTMS) and Autostore resource management system (RMS) – plus a range of Autostore modules that include vessel planning, EDI, Destin8 interface, vehicle booking, activity charging and value added functionality for container service, maintenance and repair.

Ian Blake, Port of Tyne Head of Information Technology, said: “Enhancing the Port’s IT infrastructure is part of our overall business strategy to keep pace with new technology. With a proven track record worldwide, Autostore will be a valuable addition to the Port’s management systems.”

Andrew McKaig, commercial director at Central Systems & Automation, said: “In a tough domestic market for TOS solutions, it is good to be working with the Port of Tyne. This new business win, will continue to maintain the momentum that has seen Autostore become the terminal operating system of choice for port operators right across Europe, the Baltic and Scandinavia”.