Virginia Ports facing Traffic Pressure after Baltimore Bridge went Down

A significant amount of marine traffic is rerouted away from Baltimore and into Virginia ports. The cargo ship collision that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and shut down an important shipping lane that led to one of the busiest ports on the eastern seaboard, Virginia is starting to feel some of the effects of the accident.

Later on Thursday, Governor Glenn Youngkin made an offer to assist the neighboring state of Maryland. Within a few of hours, the ports of the Commonwealth were already making preparations to take in a portion of the shipping traffic that had been rerouted.

Nearly 850,000 autos and light trucks were processed through the Port of Baltimore in 2023, making it the busiest port in the United States. It is also the second largest exporter of coal in the country, and it is the sixth largest importer of coffee in the country. In terms of roll-on/roll-off goods, the port is the first in the country. Because the majority of its ports remain inaccessible, certain ships are being rerouted to other eastern ports.

Joe Harris, senior director of media relations for the Port of Virginia, stated to The Center Square that within a few hours of the disaster, one of the terminals at the Virginia International Gateway processed a container ship that had been rerouted. He also stated that they “anticipate these diverted volumes to increase.”

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Even though the port has a sufficient amount of capacity to accommodate the additional goods, Harris does not believe that the increased cargo flow will result in any delays. On the other hand, he admitted that there is still a great deal of “unknown” regarding the number of ships that they can anticipate.

According to Harris, “We have ample capacity in terms of container yards and berth space” for vessels that are used for container transportation. The number of additional vessel calls and the accompanying cargo quantities that can be anticipated here is still uncertain. One of the principal reasons for this “unknown” is that we do not know how long the Port of Baltimore will continue to be closed to vessel traffic.

Harris is sure that the Port of Virginia will be able to keep up with the increased volume of cargo flow, in addition to the increasing number of vessels carrying cargo.