Tuesday morning (Jun27) at 0800 hours the M/V GLOVIS Comet commenced cargo operations at Pier 122 at the Port of Philadelphia. The arrival of the vessel from South Korea with its cargo of 2,176 Hyundai and Kia automobiles marks the first vessel to call the pier in twenty years, and gives the Port of Philadelphia a vital second berth for the importation and exportation of automobiles and roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) cargoes.

New Facility Opens at The Port of Philadelphia
Caption: Vehicles carrier Glovis Comet - Image courtesy of PhilaPort

“This is a true transformation story,” stated Jeff Theobald, CEO of PhilaPort. “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.”

“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,” said Governor Tom Wolf. “With its major economic impacts throughout the state, my administration understands the value of Pennsylvania’s port asset in Philadelphia and will continue to ensure the benefits of this investment and expansion continue to provide dividends to the region and entire commonwealth.”

In November, Governor Tom Wolf announced that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would invest $300 million into port infrastructure designed to more than double container capacity, creating a total of approximately 17,020 jobs and further establish PhilaPort as a multi-product, full service Port including expansion of finished vehicle cargoes.

Development of a vessel berth directly adjacent to the VPC (vehicle processing center) was a high priority for PhilaPort.

Pier 122 was purchased by PhilaPort from Conrail in 2007. The arrival of this vessel is the culmination of many steps taken by the Port, its customers and tenants.

Source: Port of Philadelphia