Sectional Barge

Great Lakes Shipyard Builds Barges for Corps of Engineers

Great Lakes Shipyard, Cleveland, Ohio, completed construction and delivery of two new barges for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The barges will be used to perform critical maintenance and inspections of lock and dam facilities on the upper Mississippi River lock and dam section. One of the barges will service Lock and Dam 16 in Illinois City, Ill. while the other one will service Lock and Dam 18 in Gladstone, Ill. Great Lakes Shipyard, a division of The Great Lakes Towing Company, operates a full-service shipyard and drydock in Cleveland, OH, and specializes in all types of marine construction and repairs for all types of vessels, including tugs, supply boats, ferries, barges, excursion vessels, dinner boats, research vessels, large yachts, and off-site topside work of every kind.  The company is currently expanding its capabilities for new vessel construction, repairs and for aluminum and steel fabrication. The Company recently placed an order for a new 700-ton mobile boat hoist. This will be the largest of its type on the Great Lakes, including both U.S. and Canada, and the second largest in North America. Current work under contract in the shipyard includes dry-docking and repairs on the Ferry Vessel William Market, new construction of two sets of Sectional Floating Restroom Barges for the National Park Service, and the construction of two new 70-ft Aluminum Research Vessels for U.S

Kvichak Marine Expands Facility

Kvichak Marine Industries, Inc. recently expanded its Seattle facility by erecting a 130’ x 50’ sectional enclosure on its waterfront property. This new addition creates enough space for Kvichak, an all-aluminum boat builder, to accommodate a maximum vessel size of 120 by 40 ft. for repairs or retrofits. “We decided to expand our existing facility into our backyard,” explained Kvichak’s Keith Whittemore. “The added space enables us to create additional flexibility in our production

Tank Barge Delivered to Progressive Barge Line

PBL 3421 was delivered by Raymond & Associates, LLC, Bayou La Batre, AL, to Progressive Barge Line, Inc., New Orleans. PBL 3421 is the first of two barges, both 297.5  x 54 x 12 ft. inland service double skin tank barges, each witha cargo capacity of about 4700 short tons at 11.5 ft. draft. The barges are certified by the U. S. Coast Guard as Type I, Type II or Type III hulls for 1.05 or lower specific gravity products and will be used in Progressive Barge Line’s operations on

Dyneema: Making Light Work of Ultra-Deep Sea Recovery Operation

A salvage operation on a ship wreck 3200 meters below the surface of the South Atlantic has been successfully carried out thanks to the use of lightweight ropes made with Dyneema ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber. Dyneema fiber, the world’s strongest fiber, is manufactured by DSM Dyneema. It is used by Hampidjan, one of the largest fishing gear and “super rope” manufacturers in the world, to make Dynex Warp

Conrad Announces New Contracts and Deliveries

Conrad Industries, Inc. signed contracts during the second quarter of 2006 for the construction of fourteen vessels totaling $28.8 million and the delivery of nine vessels in recent months. Offshore Marine Contractors has executed contracts for two 175 foot class 110’x 64.5’x 9’ liftboats and for a 200 foot class 111’x66.5’x10’liftboat. These add to the other three 175 foot class liftboats in progress previously announced by Conrad.

Crowley Launches Heavy-Lift Deck Barge 455-6

With Crowley's vessel construction boom in full swing, shipyard employees, Crowley personnel and distinguished guests paused this weekend to welcome the newest heavy-lift deck barge to the Crowley fleet - the 455-6 - sixth in a series of heavy-lift deck barges slated to be built and put into service by 2013. Against the backdrop of a Hawaiian-themed christening, Sandi Gresham, the wife of Bruce Gresham of Heerema Marine Contractors in Houston

Jeffboat Wins Barge Contract

Jeffboat has been awarded a contract to build two 52,000 net barrel ocean service tank barges for Vane Line Bunkering of Baltimore, Maryland. These barges are the fifth and sixth built to the same design at Jeffboat since 2001. Work on the new barges is expected to begin in June 2004 and extend through September 2005. The barges are to be built for coastwise manned and ocean unmanned light oil service. The new contract contains options for Vane to purchase up to two additional barges of the

Young Brothers Promote Gregory Patch

Young Brothers, Ltd., and Hawaiian Tug & Barge (YB/HTB) have promoted Gregory R. Patch from Barge Maintenance Superintendent to Marine Maintenance Manager. In his new position, Patch will be responsible for overseeing the daily and long-term maintenance operations for the companies’ 12 tugboats and nine cargo barges, as well as generators and barge ramps. Patch has served as Barge Maintenance Superintendent since May of last year when he joined the company

Barge Collision Shuts Waterway

HOUSTON - Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Galveston temporarily closed the Intracoastal Waterway in Freeport, Texas Tuesday night after a barge collision occured in the Kirby Barge Fleeting area. The tug boat Drum Point, was pushing two barges loaded with Naphtha, when the collision occurred. The third barge contained more than 1 million gallons of Cumene. The collision resulted in a fracture to the hull of the barge containing Cumene

Grounded Barge Capsized

The barge ITB-260 loaded with 3,324 tons of gravel capsized north of Gig Harbor, Wash., when the tide came in, causing the load of gravel to shift and eventually spill into the water. The tug Island Breeze was towing the barge when it reported to the Coast Guard that the barge was taking on water. Over three hours later the crew of the tug reported they had pushed the barge against the shore to prevent it from sinking.