THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, December 16, 1994              TAG: 9412160500
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   58 lines

PORT OF HAMPTON ROADS THE PORT HAS MATCHED 1994'S PERFORMANCE, WITH DECEMBER FIGURES STILL TO COME. AND THE GOOD NEWS CONTINUES: A NEW SERVICE WILL MOVE UP TO 10,000 CONTAINERS THROUGH THE PORT NEXT YEAR, AND A PENDING CONTRACT WOULD BOOST TRAFFIC BY UP TO 20,000 CONTAINERS.

A consortium of several shipping lines is on the verge of signing a deal that would cap an already strong year for the port.

The pending contract could boost container traffic through the port of Hampton Roads by up to 20,000 containers a year, said Joseph A. Dorto, general manager of Virginia International Terminals.

That's like adding nearly two weeks worth of traffic to the port's already busy schedule.

The added container traffic from the potential new agreement probably would not create new jobs, but would keep the port's longshore workers busier.

Port officials said they hope to sign an agreement with the new consortium in January.

VIT operates port terminals in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News owned by the Virginia Port Authority. The three terminals handle more than 500,000 containers a year.

The port already has matched last year's performance. ``Everything we do in December is going to be over and above last year,'' Dorto said.

VIT's terminals moved 585,000 tons of general cargo last month, up from 494,000 tons in November 1993. Containers handled increased to 40,506 from 34,238 and vessel arrivals rose to 196 from 165.

VIT's results do not include those of Sea-Land Service's terminal in Portsmouth or of Lambert's Point Docks in Norfolk.

The consortium plans to provide service to Southeast Asia from the East Coast starting in April that could bring up to 20,000 containers through Hampton Roads, Dorto said.

The consortium includes Nedlloyd Lines, Orient Overseas Container Lines, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. and American President Lines.

Another new service starting in early January will move up to 10,000 containers through Hampton Roads, Dorto said.

Hanjin Shipping Co. will begin leasing space on the weekly trans-Atlantic service provided by Cho Yang Shipping and DSR-Senator Line. That service calls at five European ports and at New York, Hampton Roads and Savannah, Ga.

The added container traffic is good news for the port, which is still concerned about its break-bulk cargo business.

Break-bulk cargo includes commodities such as steel, cocoa beans and rubber that are not shipped by container.

Much of this year's growth in general cargo tonnage is due to container traffic. Break-bulk cargo tonnage is up overall due to some big steel shipments through the Newport News Marine Terminal, Dorto said.

Tonnage in the port's biggest break-bulk commodity, cocoa beans, is down, he said. by CNB