Barges

Trinity Industries to Construct Tank Barges for Kirby

Kirby Corporation has signed a contract with Trinity Industries, Inc. for the construction of 16 double-hull, 30,000 barrel capacity, inland black oil tank barges. Kirby plans to take delivery of seven of the tank barges in 2003 and nine in the first half of 2004. The total purchase price of the 16 barges is approximately $29 million, with an estimated $12.6 million to be expended in 2003 and $16.4 million in 2004. Under the terms of the contract, Kirby has an option for the construction of 16 additional 30,000 barrel capacity black oil tank barges. In October 2002, Kirby entered into a barge management agreement with Coastal Towing, Inc. ("Coastal") to manage 54 black oil tank barges owned by Coastal, along with the 66 barges Kirby operates in its black oil fleet. Over the next three years, a number of barges in the combined Kirby/Coastal black oil fleet will be retired and replaced with new tank barges. Under the management agreement, Coastal has the right to maintain their same capacity share of the combined fleet by building replacement barges as older barges are retired. Joe Pyne, Kirby's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Kirby is currently in discussions with Coastal to determine whether Coastal intends to exercise its right to replace the Coastal capacity to be retired. Under the barge management agreement, Coastal has the right to purchase a portion of the 16 tank barges

Barge Partially Sinks

The AP has reported that a barge hauling 800,000 gallons of liquid asphalt that strayed from its tow has partially sunk to the river bottom, according to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard said the barge doesn't seem in danger of breaking. The river current has pushed the 80-foot barge sideways against a railroad bridge near downtown Louisville. Nauert said the barge is believed to be stable. The barge was one of three that got away from their tow Thursday when a connecting cable broke or

Florida Marine Adds Trinity Barge

Florida Marine Transporters has added tank barge FMT 3008 to its fleet. The barge, the second of several being built by Trinity Marine Products, Inc., reflects an ongoing commitment by Florida Marine to shift to double-skin tank barge equipment. "Double-skin" tank barges, designed with an interior cargo shell and a secondary exterior hull, are primarily used for transport of petrochemical products over the nation's waterways

Barge Salvage Operations Continue

The Coast Guard has reported that response crews are anchoring the barge and plugging ballast tank vents to prevent water from leaking into the cargo tanks. Salvage opperations will continue throughout the night. An underwater survey operations revealed that oil continues to leak from the barge's damaged cargo tank. An over flight this morning revealed a sheen and black patches of oil extending three miles southwest of the barge.

AFT-Chemoil’s New Barge Christened

AFT-Chemoil’s newest barge, the Amalia, was named in Rotterdam on December 9th.The Amalia will immediately go into operation alongside the Maxima which started service in 2003. Both barges are jointly owned by AFT-Chemoil and Rotterdam barge operator FTS-Hofftrans. The Amalia has a capacity of 4,200 mts while the Maxima’s capacity is 6,745mts. In combination the two barges provide AFT-Chemoil a significant strength in the Rotterdam bunker market

Tank Barge Industry Leads the Way in Double Hull Conversions

The American Waterways Operators AWO says that the tank barge industry is leading the way as American companies make the multi-billion dollar investment required to transform the nation's fleet of oil-carrying tank vessels into environmentally friendly double hulls. More than 65 percent of the U.S. tank barge fleet is double-hulled today, more than 13 years before the 2015 deadline set by Congress in the landmark Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90).

The ATB:A History of the State-of-the-Art

(This is Part I of a two-part series on the Articulated Tug Barge from Robert P. Hill. Part II is scheduled to be published in the September 23 edition of MarineNews.) The American coastwise shipping business has grown in a way that differs from many other nations. The high cost of manning and building ships has led over the years to a coastwise transportation network dominated by tugs and barges. But this system of water transport, has been lacking in several respects:

Halter Launches First J&L Barge

Halter Marine has launched the Capella (the brightest star in the constellation Auriga) an 80,000-barrel tank barge for J&L, Inc. The barge, the first project Halter has undertaken for J&L, was built at Halter’s Gulfport, Miss. Yard. Delivery is planned for August 30. The barge is 332 ft. long, with a beam of 74 ft. and a depth of 25 ft. The barge is built to U.S. Coast Guard standards under Sub-chapter D, as a tank barge certified to carry Grade A or lower bulk petroleum products

Alabama Shipyard Signs Tug/Barge Contract

Alabama Shipyard has signed a contract to build an articulated tug and barge (ATB) vessel for Allied Transportation Company of Norfolk, Va. "This is our third major contract award during the last four months of 2000," noted Alabama Shipyard president Dick Wells. "We have several pending contracts that will help us create a stable workforce here in Mobile," Wells stated. "In fact, Alabama Shipyard has been working with Mobile's Workforce Development Board to develop a training program

Senesco To Build Another 80,000-Barrel, Double-Hulled Barge

Senesco Marine has signed a second contract with Fall River, Massachusetts-based Sea Boats, Inc. to build another 80,000-barrel, double- hulled barge. Construction of this new, environmentally friendly vessel is well underway and is expected to be complete by April of 2004. Earlier this year, Sea Boats launched the "Tennessee," its first 80,000-barrel, double-hulled barge built by Senesco Marine. Sea Boats then needed another such