PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted all aspects of life, including work at the Port of Virginia.
Terminal activity took a hit earlier this year. However, the latest report by the Port of Virginia shows that they are busier than ever.
"We’ve had a record month in October, all time in the history for the port. Current month in November, all time history for the port," said Port of Virginia CEO John Reinhart.
13News Now has followed the Port of Virginia numbers since the COVID-19 pandemic started. In March and April, most of their cargo numbers went down due to the initial impacts of the pandemic.
"We spent millions of dollars in protocols, because it’s our responsibility to keep our workforce safe," said Reinhart.
Now, there’s a lot of movement at the port. The latest November numbers show an increase in exports and imports.
“We’re starting to get extra discharge vessels, because there’s so much volume trying to come out of Asia and Southeast Asia they didn’t have enough vessel capacity, so we got some extra vessels calls coming here," said Reinhart.
Reinhart pointed out an increase in port terminal activity means more workers are back on the job.
“What it means for Virginia, if you think about it being up 23%, that means more jobs, more warehouse distribution jobs, more freight for the truckers to carry, more freight for the railroads to carry, more for the manufacturing facilities that were supplying, " he said. "It just helps mean more resilient employment."
Reinhart said they have not yet heard from the federal government if they are expecting to help in getting COVID-19 vaccines or supplies, but they are seeing an uptick in receiving and sending Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Reinhart also mentioned a new import route that allows more cargo to come to the Port of Virginia. Port officials sent 13News Now this statement:
The Port of Virginia on Saturday welcomed the HAMMONIA EMDEN, the first container ship in a new vessel service that gives the port a direct link to both Northern Europe, which is an important market for imports, and the Caribbean, an emerging market for export cargo. Virginia is the only US East Coast stop for this weekly service, called the Caribbean Express Service, or CES.
