THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 26, 1995 TAG: 9505260543
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
As a result of the global shipping partnership announced this week between Maersk Line and Sea-Land Service, Hampton Roads will gain one new shipping service and lose another, a port executive said Thursday.
A Sea-Land service with a Brazilian shipping company will start calling at the Sea-Land terminal in Portsmouth instead of in Baltimore, while Maersk's service to the South American east coast will move back to Baltimore, said Joseph A. Dorto, general manager and chief executive of Virginia International Terminals Inc.
The port had lured the latter Maersk service to Norfolk from Baltimore in February.
``It's a wash,'' said Dorto.
VIT also announced Thursday that cargo shipments through the three state-owned terminals in the Hampton Roads port soared 31.4 percent in April. VIT operates the terminals in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News owned by the Virginia Port Authority.
About 736,000 tons of cargo moved through the terminals last month, up from about 560,000 in April 1994, VIT reported. There were 218 vessel calls at the terminals in April, up from 184 a year earlier.
Most of the cargo is containerized, but tonnage of break-bulk cargo such as steel and cocoa beans increased by more than half to 46,000 tons in April.
Sea-Land and Maersk announced Monday that they were expanding their existing joint service. The two lines will now share vessel space and facilities in nearly every trade lane worldwide.
It's unclear what other effects the combination may have in the port of Hampton Roads, Dorto said. He said he expects Maersk vessels to continue calling at Norfolk International Terminals.
Sea-Land operates its own terminal in Portsmouth, where its vessels call.
Sea-Land is the world's largest container shipping company. It is a subsidiary of Richmond-based CSX Corp. Maersk is the world's third largest container shipper. It is owned by Denmark-based A.P. Moller.
Dorto also said the port is talking with two new lines about calling in Hampton Roads. The port is also negotiating with the International Longshoremen's Association to add a night shift at Norfolk International Terminals, the state's largest terminal, Dorto said. by CNB