World Class Maritime Center

The City of Portsmouth has a wonderful port and expanding terminal operations. The Maersk Corporation is making a major investment of roughly $450 million to open a new container terminal, and that creates significant new opportunities. The City has initiated long-term planning aimed at leveraging its strengths as a port city to expand economic development. William and Mary has agreed to assist in that planning process.A key component to the planning process is the Maritime Summit. This annual meeting of public and private leaders in the maritime industry facilitates knowledge sharing and developing goals and objectives for the World Class Maritime Center project.

Click HERE to view a powerpoint overview of the Portsmouth Project.

William and Mary project goals for 2008-2009 include the following (Annual Report Update):

• Coordinate the City's fourth annual Maritime Summit.
• Identify grant opportunities and faculty research projects in support of Portsmouth's efforts to develop as a world class maritime center, including research on port logistics and lessons learned from other port operations.
• Deliver the Business Strategic Education Module Series to port related businesses in Hampton Roads through the regional WIRED grant.