THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 29, 1995 TAG: 9504290364
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Maersk Line, the giant Danish shipping line, may move its American headquarters to Norfolk if problems persist in New York, the company's top American executive said.
That would be a coup for Hampton Roads and its port. Even if Maersk doesn't move its headquarters, it is likely to move more cargo through Hampton Roads, said Maersk Inc. Chairman A.B. ``Ted'' Ruhly.
Ruhly's comments came Thursday night during the Hampton Roads Maritime Association's 75th anniversary banquet at the Omni Hotel in Norfolk.
Maersk is apparently growing weary of harbor-dredging problems at the port of New York and New Jersey. Maersk's headquarters for all its North and South American operations are located in nearby Madison, N.J.
``If you ever hear the rumor that our company is moving its headquarters to Norfolk, that may be pretty factual,'' Ruhly said. ``If we can't have our ships in the port of New York and New Jersey, there's no point in having our headquarters there, either.''
Ruhly added that Maersk was seriously considering such a move to one of two U.S. cities starting with an ``N.'' The other city besides Norfolk, he said, is Needles, Calif. - a sun-scorched town of about 4,000 far from the Pacific Ocean in the middle of Death Valley.
The New York port doesn't seem to understand the need to dredge to remain competitive, Ruhly said. ``We look at a place like this and think we could take it all over and close that place up there,'' he said.
Ruhly likes the port of Hampton Roads because it's close to theocean and has deep water. One of container shipping's most significant trends is the growing use of larger and larger ships - ships that require deep channels and deep berths, Ruhly said.
``This port is very fortunate . . . in being one of the premier deep-draft ports in the nation,'' he said.
``I hope that he's absolutely right that more shipping lines bring cargo here if they can't find a way to dredge in New York,'' said Joseph A. Dorto, chief executive and general manager of Virginia International Terminals Inc., the nonprofit company that operates the three state-owned terminals in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News.
``We'll be happy to put it on the road up there or send it by barge,'' said Dorto, who was honored at the banquet for his leading role in building up the Hampton Roads port.
Maersk is a division of the privately owned Danish transportation conglomerate A.P. Moller Group. The group's fleet of 150 container ships, tankers and bulk freighters, operating under the name Maersk, comprise one of the world's largest shipping fleets.
Maersk's business in Hampton Roads has quadrupled since 1989, Ruhly said. In six years the shipping line has gone from four vessel calls a month in Norfolk to 12 vessel calls and eight barge calls a month. It's moving more than 50,000 containers a year through the port and has a goal of 100,000 a year by 1996 or 1997, Ruhly said.
While Ruhly said after the speech that he was serious about possibly moving the headquarters, which employs about 500 people, local officials expressed surprise.
``That's the first we ever heard about it,'' said Robert T. Ford, Maersk's regional vice president. ``As far as I know, he's probably not very serious.''
Ford oversees Maersk's field office in Norfolk, which employs about 20 people and handles the shipping line's business in Virginia and parts of North Carolina.
``Nothing's impossible, but Maersk has a very large base up in New Jersey, and I think it's a pretty new building,'' Dorto said.
Maersk wouldn't be the first major steamship line to leave the New York area. Sea-Land Service Inc., the steamship subsidiary of Richmond-based CSX Corp., recently announced the move of its worldwide headquarters to Charlotte from Liberty Corner, N.J.
``Certainly there's a door that's open a bit. There's some corporate thinking that maybe where they're at isn't the best location for them,'' said Robert T. Skunda, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade, who also attended the banquet. ``These things typically aren't decided on a whim. . . .
``You can seize on an opportunity like this to begin marketing a prospect. So I plan to call on him and follow up.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
A.B. "Ted" Ruhly
KEYWORDS: PORT OF HAMPTON ROADS by CNB