KOTUG Takes Full Ownership of Its Bahamas Towage JV with SEACOR
KOTUG International, a marine services and towage provider based in the Netherlands, announced on Thursday it has concluded its acquisition of Kotug Seabulk Maritime (KSM), taking full ownership of the Caribbean marine towage business.KOTUG said it has acquired the interest of its joint venture partner, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based SEACOR Holdings via its Seabulk subsidiary KS Maritime Holdings, owner of the 50% share in KSM.Founded in 2017, KSM acts as the exclusive provider of maritime terminal support services for Buckeye Partners’ Bahamas Hub…
Ingram Forms Material Handling and Supply Chain Subsidiary
Nashville-based Ingram Barge Company announced it has formed a new material handling and supply chain solutions subsidiary, Ingram Infrastructure Group.The move, fueled by the company's acquisitions of Inland River Transport Holdings (SCF) and NexStar Solutions, is intended to enhance Ingram's end-to-end supply chain solutions capabilities.Ingram acquired integrated river transportation and logistics services provider SCF from SEACOR Holdings following the signing of a purchase agreement last October.Ingram currently operates across more than 4,500 miles of the U.S.
Seacor Sells Its Caribbean Liner Business
SEACOR Holdings Inc. announced it has concluded the sale of its Caribbean liner and logistics business SEACOR Container Lines LLC (“SEACOR Island Lines”) to King Ocean Services Ltd. The transaction includes all operations and assets.King Ocean specializes in marine transportation and logistics solutions to close to 50 destinations across the Caribbean and South and Central America out of their Port Everglades facilities in Ft Lauderdale, Fla.“For 40 years, King Ocean, a multi-generational…
SEACOR Sells Its Inland River Business to Ingram
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. based SEACOR Holdings Inc. announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its inland river transportation and logistics business to Ingram Barge Company LLC, a division of Nashville-based Ingram Marine Group.Part of the SEACOR family of businesses for over two decades, Inland River Transport Holdings LLC (SCF) includes more than 1,000 covered dry cargo hopper barges, eight 6,000-plus horsepower towboats and a network of terminal and fleeting infrastructure along the Mississippi River.“I am extremely pleased to enter this transaction with Ingram…
Powering the North American Maritime Fuel Transition
Offshore service vessels, along with workboats serving harbors and inland rivers, have embarked on an industry-wide voyage toward reduced emissions of greenhouse gasses. Professor Craig Philip, a faculty member with Vanderbilt University’s Center for Transportation and Operational Resilience (VECTOR) and former CEO of Ingram Barge Company, provides this context: “The Maritime Sector has long provided shippers with the most fuel-efficient and sustainable freight transport option…
OSVs Help to Power North American Maritime Fuel Transition
The fuel switch in maritime is on, its real, and it will be driving vessel design, construction and operation decisions for decades to come. While many still debate the merits of each alternative fuel, OSV industry leaders are at the forefront driving change, and they need to be, as in North America alone OSVs makes up 17% of the fleet but contributes 29% of the maritime emissions. In the next edition of Offshore Engineer, Barry Parker takes a deeper dive on the plans underway to wean maritime operations off of fossil fuels.
US Inland Waterways: Looking for Rainmakers
As 2022 moves into its final months, low water levels and drought form the basis of the news impacting inland waterways operators and barge companies. In the first week of October, numerous barges were reported grounded in the Mississippi River, particularly south of Baton Rouge. This has consequences: barge rates jumped 218% in St. Louis, compared to 2021.Low water was so severe that on October 7 Ingram Barge CEO John Roberts issued a force majeure notice (force majeure - unforeseeable…
Inland Waterways in Focus: Balancing Maintenance and Operational Requirements
The integrity of the marine transportation system as a key plank in a country's economic prosperity is in heightened focus today, with logistics snarls contributing to fast rising inflation. Maintaining the integrity of the vast U.S. inland waterway system - with more than 12,000 miles of inland and intracoastal waterways including 218 lock chambers at 176 sites - is the focus of the Maritime Risk Symposium 2022, a 2.5-day conference scheduled for November 15-17, hostd by Argonne National Laboraty's TCS Conference Center.On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, James P.
Ingram Barge Declares Force Majeure Due to Low Mississippi River
Ingram Barge Company, one of the country’s largest barge shippers, said Thursday it was “providing formal notice of a force majeure event” as low water on the Mississippi River disrupted its operations on the major shipping waterway.The declaration would affect the portion of Ingram’s operating network at locations downriver from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Ingram Barge Chief Executive John Roberts said in an emailed statement. (Reuters - Reporting by Karl Plume; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Keeping the Inland Waterways Open: Balancing Maintenance and Operational Requirements
Inland waterways, sometimes called ‘nature’s superhighways’ provide a strategic advantage related to security, economics, and trade for any nation whose geography, topography, and climate enable this natural infrastructure. Economic benefits are realized in small rural areas through large urban communities that utilize the system for efficient transportation and improved markets. However, deliberate operational, resource, and policy efforts, along with broad stakeholder integration, are required to maintain and operate such a system.
US Inland Waterway Infrastructure: Riding a Good News Wave
The inland waterways have enjoyed several positive developments toward modernization of the system, particularly over the last two years.Annual appropriations that fund the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission have been steadily on the rise for the last nine fiscal years, specifically the Construction and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) accounts have been funded at historic levels. The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021 provided a…
Ingram CEO O’Loughlin to Retire; Roberts to Take the Helm
Nashville-based Ingram Marine Group, one of the largest barging companies in the U.S., announced Monday that David O’Loughlin will retire from his role as CEO. He will be succeeded by John Roberts, the company’s current chief operating officer, who will take the helm as the new president and CEO on February 1. O’Loughlin will stay with the company as vice chair for the remainder of 2022 to assist with the transition. “Dave has been invaluable to our company and our people,” said Ingram Barge Company chairman Orrin H. Ingram II.
Ingram Re-christens Four Towboats
Ingram Marine Group held a re-christening ceremony on August 30 for four towboats that are part of its inland waterways fleet."At Ingram, we name our vessels after Ingram associates and affiliates who have made a huge difference to our business, which makes these events an incredibly special time for all of us," said Orrin Ingram, Chairman of Ingram Barge Company and CEO of Ingram Industries. "I thank the four men being honored for all that they’ve done for Ingram and the marine industry at large…
Ingram Adds Two New Towboats to Its Fleet
U.S.-based inland waterways shipping company Ingram Marine Group on Wednesday held a ceremony to christen the Adrienne M. Moore and honor of the soon-to-be-completed Tom Cornwell. The sister towboats are the first of 10 vessels that Cenac Marine and Main Iron are under contract to build for Ingram Marine.The twin-screw 78’x32’x10’ vessels are designed by Main Iron Works, Ingram Marine Group and Ashraf Degedy PE. Each is powered by Caterpillar C32 Tier 3 rated main engines (Adrienne M.
Ingram Barge to Acquire Cheryl K and San Jacinto River Fleet
Nashville-based Ingram Barge Company announced Tuesday that its wholly-owned subsidiary Houston Fleeting Services has reached a deal to acquire the business assets Houston-based Cheryl K and San Jacinto River Fleet. According to Ingram Barge, the purchase allows it to expand its footprint into the Houston area and along the Texas Gulf Coast while simultaneously growing its logistics, dry barge and liquid barge businesses by adding critical infrastructure, vessels and personnel.
NOx Control: Should Certain Vessels Get a Break?
When it comes to the EPA’s recent proposed delay to implementation of Tier 4 marine diesel engines ‘in certain high-speed commercial vessels,’ where you stand probably depends on where you sit.On September 6, the U.S. Environmental Protection agency (EPA) proposed to delay implementation of Tier 4 marine diesel engines “in certain high-speed commercial vessels.” Specifically; EPA mentions three kinds of vessels: lobster boats, pilot boats and a third, more open-ended reference to “other high-speed vessels,” possibly including hovercraft.
St. Louis Regional Freightway, New Orleans Port Sign MoU
The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans and the St. Louis Regional Freightway today entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to exchange market and operational information with the goal of growing trade and building upon existing and new business relationships between the two regions and critical ports. The agreement also calls for joint marketing efforts to meet those objectives. The MOU is the culmination of discussions begun during a September 2016 visit to St. Louis by top officials for the Port of New Orleans. At that time, it became evident that it would be mutually beneficial to foster even greater collaboration and leverage the intermodal connectivity between the Port of New Orleans and the St. Louis region.
Coalition Urges Congress to Address Asian Carp in the Great Lakes
A coalition of maritime business and industry organizations sent a letter to key Members of Congress on Friday, March 24 urging funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to further support efforts undertaken by the State of Illinois to slow, stop and reverse the migration of Asian carp, an aquatic invasive species, through cost-effective measures. In the letter, the UnLock Our Jobs (UOJ) coalition members review the record of success that the GLRI has had in working with the State of Illinois to develop a range of strategies to control Asian carp…
Ingram Barge Company Makes Repower Push
An Ingram Barge Company pilot lives on the water, pushing cargo while navigating the more than 4,500 miles of the U.S. Inland Waterways. When Ingram needed to repower their M/V CRYSTAL D. TAYLOR, M/V ROBERT J. BARKER and M/V KIM W. NOWELL towboats, they looked to GE Transportation and distributor National Maintenance & Repair Inc. GE’s eight-cylinder, 250-millimeter bore inline medium speed (1,000 revolutions per minute) Tier 4 compliant marine diesel engine provides Ingram with more power…
American Waterways Operators Elects Chairman
The members of the American Waterways Operators, the national trade association representing the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, elected a new slate of leaders during AWO's Spring Convention held recently in Washington, D.C. James F. Farley, Corporate Vice President – Industry Relations, Kirby Corporation, was elected Chairman. Edward J. "Ted" Tregurtha, President of Moran Towing Corporation, was elected Vice Chairman. Mr. Farley succeeds outgoing Chairman David G. Sehrt, Senior Vice President and Chief Engineering Officer of Ingram Barge Company.
AWO Holds Spring Convention
AWO members converge on Washington D.C. The American Waterways Operators’ (AWO) 2016 Spring Convention attracted more than 200 members to Washington, D.C. April 19-21, including 36 first-time attendees. The annual event included a day of organization-wide and sector-specific meetings to discuss priority industry issues, the 14th Annual Barge-In, the Annual Membership meeting, at which AWO’s new member leadership was elected and new members of the Board of Directors were enrolled, and the Board of Directors meeting.
Ingram Wins EPA 2015 SmartWay Excellence Award
Ingram Barge Company was honored today with a SmartWay Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a true industry leader in freight supply chain environmental performance and energy efficiency. “We’re so proud to be an industry leader in environmental stewardship, setting the industry standard of excellence,” said Chuck Arnold, Ingram’s VP of Business & Strategic Development. Ingram Barge Company is the first barge carrier in the history of the Partnership to receive this distinction, representing the best environmental performers of SmartWay’s nearly 3,000 Partners. The carrier Excellence Awardees are being honored at American Trucking Association’s Annual Management Conference & Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 19, 2015.
Inland Marine Service Appoints New Leadership
Four corporate professionals have recently joined Inland Marine Service (IMS), announced Dave Hammond, President of Inland Marine Service. The new hires are Kristina Luna, HR Manager; Moses Garza, Tankerman Supervisor; Caleb King, Manager SHEQ/Compliance Director; and Brian Howell, Assistant Port Engineer. Reporting to Jason Adams, Luna will be based out of the Hebron office and will be responsible for all of the company’s human relations needs. Luna has 20 years of experience in employee management, human resources, event planning, marketing, and sales.