VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Sarah J. McCoy is a fan of Formula One auto racing, so she didn’t have far to reach for a metaphor to describe the Port of Virginia’s raison d’être.
“When you trade ships for cars and harbors for tracks, the reality is, they’re not all that different,” the port’s interim chief executive said. “What it takes to compete at the highest level of international racing – precision, teamwork, the constant pursuit of improvement – those are the same principles that define how we run America’s ‘Most Modern Gateway.’ Every part of our system is engineered for speed, certainty, and scale. And just like winning a Formula One race, that doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of thousands of deliberate decisions made over time, aligned around a clear strategy, and executed with discipline every single day.
“And that’s exactly how we’ve built this port.”
McCoy remarks came during her keynote address before 500 guests at the annual State of the Port luncheon April 23 at the Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront Resort.
But McCoy wasn’t taking the wheel of an underpowered also-ran, after succeeding departing CEO Stephen Edwards in January.
“In this role, the focus is simple: build on our momentum to ensure this gateway operates at the highest level, every single day.”
Container volume has increased 20% to 3.4 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) since 2021, lifting the operating port to sixth place among all American container hubs.
While McCoy spoke, fighter jets from neighboring Naval Station Norfolk roared overhead, a reminder that the Virginia Port Authority is locked in a decades-long arms race with container ports up and down the eastern seaboard, at a time when geopolitics has made uncertainty a daily fact of life across the global supply chain.
McCoy leads the longterm $1.4-billion Gateway Investment Program designed to support growth that’s she said is paying off. That includes channel deepening to accommodate the largest vessels in the Atlantic trade; expanded rail and terminal capacity; and partnerships to strengthen the broader logistics network.
“Now, those projects are coming online at exactly the right time. We all know that ships are bigger, cargo volumes are larger, and supply chains are demanding more speed, more precision, and even more certainty than ever before.
“We’ve built the Port of Virginia to meet THIS era.”
Flexing built-in advantages
The proximity of the Navy base also gives the port a major advantage. Harbor depth is Congressionally-mandated for 55 feet — deepest in the country — to handle the aircraft carriers stationed there, and the Elizabeth River connecting the complex is wide enough for container ships moving in opposite directions to pass.
McCoy called 2025 “wild,” with shifting cargo flows and diversifying trade lanes boosting volumes from southeast Asia and India, alongside steady strength in northern Europe.
Supply chains are being reconfigured in real time to prioritize speed, she said, for resilience and flexibility. “This is no longer a period of temporary disruption. This is the operating environment.”
McCoy said that the port increased productivity in the midst of change, and delivered the highest level of vessel productivity while having the lowest injury rate in its history. Trucks moved through the gates in an average of 36 minutes, and containers moved from ship to rail in just 34 hours.
“We also maintain a balanced mix of trade partners, which reduces exposure to volatility in any single market,” said McCoy, referring to drastic shifts as the Trump administration targeted China with off-and-on tariffs in 2025.
That active management earned the port $877 million in operating revenues in 2025, McCoy said, second-most in its history.
“It proves that this port has the operational and financial discipline to continue delivering strong results in a global environment where uncertainty is no longer the exception – it is the baseline,” she said.
The generous accessibility helped reduce vessel port stays by 15%, “and ensured there is not a ship currently operating that cannot call Virginia fully loaded,” said McCoy. “In fact, this channel wasn’t just built for the ships that are in circulation today. It was purposefully built for the next generation of vessels. That creates certainty that ships will not outgrow this harbor.”
That’s a big deal among U.S. ports, many of which are constrained by lack of developable land in crowded urban locations. This past week, truck drivers at Port Newark were sent home after a three-mile long line formed at an overwhelmed container depot.
Expansion moving quickly ahead
McCoy pointed out that in Virginia, “”we didn’t just deepen the channel; we scaled our infrastructure. This time last year, we had two ultra large container vessel berths. Today, we have four and by the end of next year we will have five, all supported by modern cranes, including the largest low-profile ship-to-shore cranes in the world.”
Those cranes from China’s ZPMC arrived that same day, configured at the Navy’s request with booms that slide instead of lift, to prevent possible obstructions with aircraft. The cranes are expected to commence operations in June.
“I asked the captain to slow-steam the vessel so you would be able to see it passing by these windows, but we don’t do slow at the Port of Virginia. Plus, I can’t afford it, I have a tariff deadline to beat,” McCoy joked.
Port cargo can reach 75% of the American population in two days, said McCoy, spurring development that has added 40 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space across the state. [One luncheon attendee said that availability has outpaced demand, and warehousing is currently a buyer’s market.]
Still, “that access – paired with speed and certainty – is what creates the supply chain of the future,” McCoy said.
Control and planning a key
McCoy insisted that this encompassing planning — “from sea buoy to doorstep” — is different from any other port in North America.
“That approach isn’t just important to this port and the people in this room. It benefits every community throughout Virginia because we all know containers do more than move goods. They drive where companies invest, shape where jobs are created, and and determine where long-term economic growth takes hold.
“That is what makes this port one of the Commonwealth’s most important economic engines today, and there’s more to come.”
The VPA has secured a long-term agreement that creates a clear path to ownership and expands operational control over that facility in the near-term. Expansion at Norfolk International Terminals is in the final stages that will add 1.4 million TEUs’ capacity by mid-2027, boosting total annual capacity to 3.6 million TEUs.
A reconfiguration at Pinners Point Container Yard will create space for an additional 1 million loaded TEUs at terminals in Portsmouth and Norfolk. Redevelopment is eyed for Portsmouth Marine Terminal, currently supporting an offshore wind project that could host 1.6 million TEUs of additional container capacity. McCoy cited forecasts saying capacity will be needed within the next decade.
Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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