The terminal is owned by the VPA and will be operated by Virginia International Terminals, LLC. Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association will handle the vessel, gate and terminal services. Sworn VPA port police officers will team with professional contractors to secure the terminal.
"Reconstituting a portion of PMT will provide some relief at Virginia International Gateway (VIG) and NIT, as both of those terminals are busy and pushing their capacity limits," Mr. Reinhart said. "PMT is a deep-water facility that will serve an important role for our purposes, but over the long-term as a facility that handles many different types of cargo: bulk, breakbulk and Ro-Ro."
VIG is the former APM Terminals Virginia terminal, which was sold in August to Alinda Capital Partners. It is operated by the VPA under a 20-year lease agreement that took effect in July 2010. NIT is Norfolk International Terminals.
PMT Gate.
Photo/Port of Virginia
In 1967 PMT opened for business and on September 20, of that year, Atlantic Container Line’s M/V Atlantic Span became the first commercial ship to call the terminal. For 43 years, the facility serviced thousands of ships and processed millions of containers and large quantities of general cargo.
In late 2010, following the successful negotiation of a 20-year operating lease for VIG, the VPA made a strategic decision to shutter PMT. By January 2011, all former PMT customers and cargo had been consolidated at VIG, allowing the port to achieve the full benefit of that facility’s automation and efficiency. For more than three years, PMT was largely dormant.
In spring 2014, a short-term cooperative agreement between the port and Pasha Automotive Services brought business back to PMT (Advisory, April 15, 2014). During a two month period, Pasha staged and processed more than 6,000 Chrysler-Jeep vehicles at PMT for export to the Asia-Pacific market.
Similar operations hold promise for PMT’s future, Mr. Reinhart said: "We’re always open to evaluating options for maximizing the facility to generate economic benefits for the Commonwealth and jobs for our region."
PMT Container Yard with freshly painted stripes.
Photo/Port of Virginia