Virginia Port Authority - Norfolk International Terminals

Norfolk International Terminals

Norfolk International Terminals is the largest of the four facilities, with a land area of 648 acres (2.62 km2). The terminal has fifty-foot-deep entrance channels at the north and south ends. The terminal is serviced by 89,300 feet (27,200 m) of rail track and 11 Suez-class container cranes. A marginal wharf measuring 5,730 feet (1,750 m) long provides five berths for vessels carrying containerized, breakbulk, and roll-on/roll-off cargoes. NIT provides 34,219 TEUs of container storage space; 2,340,000 square feet (217,000 m2) total of covered pier, dry, and cold storage space; and space for 702 stacked truck chassis. NIT is accessible via Interstates 64, Insterstate 564, and Terminal Boulevard, and via rail serviced by Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX Corporation, and Eastern Shore Railroad.

NIT was originally a surplus Army base that the City of Norfolk purchased in 1965. The city outfitted the base with a container crane and put a one-berth container facility in service in addition to the breakbulk capacity already available. A second container berth and two more container cranes were added in the early 1970s.

The Virginia Port Authority used a $12 million appropriation from the General Assembly to acquire NIT on July 1, 1972. Slightly more than half the money went to pay obligations to the city and terminal; the remainder was dedicated to purchasing a fourth container crane, extending the container berth, and improving support structures.

During the 1980s, NIT attracted the business of Nissan Motor Company and Evergreen. To meet increasing demand, the VPA dredged deeper channels, added a fourth berth, built a 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m2) warehouse, purchased three high-speed gantry cranes, and paved another container storage area.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the VPA continued to expand the facilities, replace old cranes, and add new ones, until it reached its present capacity. On July 16, 2008, the three newest, and largest, cranes were delivered to the terminal.