First PCTC Arrives at Port of Philadelphia’s New Pier
Image Courtesy: PhilaPortCargo operations at the Port of Philadelphia’s pier 122 have been inaugurated with the arrival of M/V Glovis Comet, a pure car truck carrier (PCTC).
The 6,460 CEU Glovis Comet was the first vessel to call the pier in twenty years, with the port now having a “vital” second berth for the importation and exportation of automobiles and roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) cargoes.
“This is a true transformation story. In conjunction with our customer Hyundai GLOVIS (Hyundai, Kia) tenant USD Group (Northeast Energy Terminal), the Teamsters and the ILA, we were able to retool the pier and put it back to work,” Jeff Theobald, CEO of PhilaPort, commented.
“The arrival of the first vessel at pier 122 is a result of our plan and investment for the port in Philadelphia to expand operations, grow jobs and provide even greater benefit for Pennsylvania’s economy,” Governor Tom Wolf, said.
In November, Wolf announced that Pennsylvania would invest USD 300 million into port infrastructure designed to more than double container capacity and further establish PhilaPort as a multi-product port including expansion of finished vehicle cargoes.
Development of a vessel berth directly adjacent to the vehicle processing center (VPC) was a high priority for PhilaPort, the port said.
Prior to 2010, the Port of Philadelphia was not known to handle finished vehicles. Since then, volumes have grown significantly. It is anticipated that the port will handle over 200,000 cars in 2017.
As disclosed, Hyundai Glovis is expected to receive its one millionth vehicle into PhilaPort next month.
“The second berth for roll-on/roll-off cargo is critical to Hyundai Glovis for many reasons. It allows for two vessels to call at the Port of Philadelphia at the same time,” Glenn Clift, President and CEO of Hyundai Glovis in the United States, explained.
