Port’s New Chief on Board With Challenge of Fresh Competition
By Gregory Richards, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
Feb. 10–NORFOLK — Come July, the Virginia Port Authority will face a major competitor when APM Terminals, the world’s second-largest terminal operator, opens its $450 million Portsmouth facility.
Jerry A. Bridges, the authority’s new executive director, said APM could take some business from the agency’s three terminals in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News. I — his first public comments since taking the authority’s helm on Monday, Bridges told reporters Friday that he welcomes the competition.
“We will compete on every level with APM Terminals,” Bridges said. “We don’t view it as the kiss of death when APM Terminals opens up.”
The state-controlled authority’s terminals are well positioned on price, customer service and technological innovation, he said. A bout 81 percent of the authority’s customers have recently signed long-term deals with its operating company, Virginia International Terminals.
Bridges hopes APM fills its 291-acre terminal with cargo brought from Asia on giant ships belonging to its sister company, Maersk Line.
“I believe they have the capacity and the potential to do it with their own goods,” said Bridges, who led the Port of Oakland in California for the past 2-1/2 years.
His first week on the job has been a whirlwind, filled with introductory meetings, terminal tours and reams of paperwork, Bridges said. “I’m official, I am on the payroll, and I’m feeling good about it.”
He’s the nation’s highest paid port director with potential annual compensation, including maximum bonus, of as much as $384,500.
He took over from J. Robert Bray, who led the authority for the past 29 years and is now executive director emeritus until he retires at year’s end.
Bridges praised the increased productivity of straddle carriers — hulking machines used to move cargo containers — at Norfolk International Terminals. The activity at Newport News Marine Terminal, filled with cars, newsprint and containers, surprised him. And Portsmouth Marine Terminal, where he began his maritime career in 1989 with Sea-Land Service, was so busy he joked that he was afraid he might be run over.
Bridges described the authority’s strategic direction as “impressive ” and said it’s too early to talk about any major changes he may want to make. H e does want to inject more energy into marketing and increase the amount of time spent meeting with shipping lines.
He plans to leverage his extensive contacts with foreign lines. H e anticipates traveling overseas at least once a quarter, especially to Asia, where much of the imports flowing to the United States originate.
“They’re going to get sick of hearing about the Port of Virginia,” he said of customers.
Besides seeking deals with shipping lines, Bridges said the authority will look for real estate opportunities that would boost use of the port. One possibility is acquiring up to 53 acres owned by the Navy next to NIT for use as a cargo transfer facility. Another might be land for a warehouse in Roanoke, where Norfolk Southern Corp., the Norfolk-based railroad, plans to build a freight terminal as part of its Heartland Corridor project.
Bridges called Bray an “invaluable” resource during the transition. He praised the executive team Bray had assembled, including Deputy Executive Director J.J. Keever, who was a top contender for the authority’s top post. Bridges said Keever has been “very helpful” and has “shown himself to be a loyal and distinctive part of our overall team.”
Bray, said Bridges, “can take a breath because he’s left a legacy and a staff that are outstanding.”
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
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