Virginia’s port is the third busiest on the East Coast behind New York and Savannah, and it’s investing $1.5 billion to improve operations, so spokesman Joe Harris says we can easily accommodate extra ships.
“We did it back in 2014 with Superstorm Sandy when the port of New York/New Jersey had a temporary closure, and we did it all through 2022 when we handled the COVID cargo," he recalls.
"We had basically a year-long cargo surge that led us to an all-time high in terms of cargo handling in a 12-month period.”
Here, he adds, there is no risk of collisions bringing down bridges.
“You know the ship channels pass over tunnels, so there are not any overhead obstructions.”
Already, he says, one ship that first docked in Virginia and was planning another stop in Baltimore has decided to unload its cargo here, put it on trucks and railroads and send it where it needs to go.
Experts say the accident that brought down a bridge could disrupt shipping in Baltimore for months.