The Port of Virginia has completed the US$450 million Norfolk Harbor dredging project, which makes the commercial shipping channel serving the port complex the deepest on the US East Coast.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger said the project was finished on time and on budget and that it would help boost the local economy, particularly Virginia’s agriculture industry.
"The port is now home to the deepest commercial shipping channel on the entire East Coast of the United States," Governor Spanberger said. "Because of this investment, the largest cargo ships in the Atlantic trade — and the next generation coming behind them — can now safely transit Norfolk Harbor with a full load."
The governor added that the project will allow ocean carriers to load more Virginia agricultural and forestry exports than ever before while keeping shipping costs down.
The Norfolk Harbor dredging project incorporated an additional five feet (1.5 metres) of depth to the channel, bringing the total depth to 55 feet (17 metres) and making it the deepest commercial shipping channel on the US East Coast.
The channel will now allow safe, seamless, two-way traffic for super-sized container vessels across the Atlantic shipping fleet.
