The port of Virginia has implemented Navis’ N4 TOS at Virginia International Gateway (VIG) to unify all port operations, replacing their previous 10-year old system.
The changeover to N4 started late in the evening on May 11, 2018, where the 24-hour long data migration process began.
All cargo and vessel operations had to be put on hold while the installation and data migration was finalized.
In 2014, after over two years of preparation, the port switched to the N4 system at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) — setting the stage for bringing the system to VIG.
Both Portsmouth Marine Terminal and Richmond Marine Terminal at the port also use N4.
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The N4 system is set to bring support for the Trucker Reservation System that the port implemented in March at NIT.
The port will be announcing a mandatory start date for the reservation system at VIG by the end of June.
CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, John F. Reinhart, said: “Our ability to efficiently coordinate all of the operations, analyze the data and drive efficiency while growing our volumes requires a twenty-first century terminal and operating system.
“Our barge, rail and truck volumes are growing, the vessels calling Virginia are getting bigger — and we are driving to dredge to 55 feet to attract even bigger vessels.
“All of this dictates that we have the technology to manage this growth, more capacity and a team that is well-prepared.”
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Alongside the switch to N4 VIG brought online 13 new, and fully N4 compatible, container stacks — expanding the terminal’s capacity by 20%.
The introduction of the new TOS and the new stacks are part of a $320 million expansion of VIG, adding 26 rail-mounted gantry cranes, four ship-to-shore cranes, 850 linear feet of new berth space, a doubled rail operation capacity, and four more lanes at the truck gate.
The expansions are expected to complete in 2019 — boosting the terminal's capacity to 1.2 million TEU annually.
