THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 24, 1995 TAG: 9501240005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
I read with great concern the ``Looming sea-lift crisis'' (letter, Dec. 27), which contained information relating to Evergreen Line that was inaccurate and misleading to your readers.
To set the record straight, Evergreen is a privately held company and is not owned by the government of Taiwan as depicted in the letter.
Evergreen was one of the first major steamship lines offering round-the-world service to call direct at Norfolk International Terminals. Several other steamship lines followed suit, resulting in the port of Virginia's container business increasing by more than 50 percent over the past 10 years.
About 90 percent of the port's container business is shipped on foreign-flag lines. These companies create jobs and a tax base for Virginia. In fact, according to an economic-impact study by Old Dominion University, total business through the port of Virginia last year generated more than 106,000 port or port-related jobs in Virginia. This resulted in $2.6 billion in wages and $304 million in state and local taxes. And, as one of the port's highest-volume ship lines, Evergreen's business through Virginia ports contributes greatly to these figures.
In addition to port business, an Evergreen subsidiary, EVA Airways, has purchased well over $3.5 billion worth of U.S. aircraft over the past three years from U.S. manufacturers. This has also created a tax base, job and economic stimulus to the economy of our nation.
The question of sea-lift capability is a defense issue and the responsibility of the U.S. government. Vessels such as the America and the United States were passenger ships that were out of service long before Evergreen commenced its services. Evergreen does not own or operate any passenger vessels.
Let us not confuse issues related to government inefficiencies with the realities of international commercial trade.
OSEPH DORTO, general manager
Virginia International Terminals Inc.
Norfolk, Jan. 9, 1995 by CNB