BREAKING NEWS: Port of Virginia opens wider shipping channel

The Port of Virginia’s wider shipping channel is now open for two-way passage of ultra-large container vessels (ULCV).

Widening the channel is part of the port’s $1.4 billion strategic infrastructure investment package that focuses on creating efficiency, supporting larger cargo volumes and increasing the speed of cargo moving through the gateway, said the Port.

In parallel to widening the channel, the port is also dredging it and the Norfolk Harbor to 55 feet deep and the ocean approach to 59 feet deep.

Upon completion of the $450 million dredging project in fall 2025, The Port of Virginia will have the deepest, widest channels on the US East Coast.

“The completion of this project is a testament to the collaboration of all port stakeholders in Virginia,” said Capt. Whiting Chisman, president of the Virginia Pilot Association.

“It is a momentous achievement. The focus of the project more than a decade ago was on creating a channel wide enough and deep enough to safely accommodate a class of container vessels that were not expected to call the US East Coast for years to come.”

“This port is ready for the future.”