Virginia Port Authority - Newport News Marine Terminal

Newport News Marine Terminal

Newport News Marine Terminal is the smallest of the four facilities, with a land area of 140.64 acres (0.5691 km2). The terminal has a forty-five-foot-deep main channel. The terminal is serviced by 42,720 feet (13,020 m) of rail track and four container cranes. Two berths handle cruise vessels and breakbulk cargo. The facility is also capable of handling containerized and roll-on/roll-off cargo. NNMT provides storage space for 790 containers and 1,210 chassis. NNMT also offers 394,000 square feet (36,600 m2) of covered storage space; 256,000 square feet (23,800 m2) of dry storage space; and 43 acres (170,000 m2) of open yard storage space. NNMT is accessible via Interstate 64, Interstate 664, and U.S. Route 17. Breakbulk rail service is provided by CSX Corporation. Containerized cargo is drayed to and from NIT when Norfolk Southern rail service is necessary.

Prior to the beginning of port unification in 1971, the Peninsula Ports Authority of Virginia (PPAV) owned the terminal and Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (now CSX) operated it. In the late 1960s, Pier B entered service and construction of Pier C began. When, in 1971, the PPAV and Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad conveyed their rights to NNMT to the VPA, Pier C had not yet been completed. One of the requirements of the contract stipulated that the VPA had to obtain state funding to finish the project. In 1972, the General Assembly appropriated the necessary funds.

Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad remained the operator of NNMT until 1982, when the VPA Board of Commissioners authorized VIT to take over the operations. In 1983, the VPA purchased 22 acres (89,000 m2) of land adjacent to NNMT from CSX, then leased the land back to the railroad company for two years while they built a repair along its tracks.

In the 1990s, NNMT received a $10 million entrance complex, an interchange, scales, an administration building, 27 acres (110,000 m2) of paved cargo space, and an extension to Pier C. In 1994, the Nissan Import Auto Operations facility, previously located at NIT, was relocated to a newly developed 25-acre (100,000 m2) space at NNMT.