River Transportation News

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…

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 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…

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…

A group of partners aiming to boost efficiency and sustainability for transporting goods in and around London has come together to trial shipping light freight on the River Thames.The non-profit Cross River Partnership (CRP) recently launched the London Light Freight River Trial, London’s first daily, multi-supplier, river freight trial, as part of the Defra-funded Clean Air Logistics for London project. The group has been working with the Port of London Authority (PLA), Lyreco UK & Ireland…

Researchers from NOAA, the state of Michigan, and Ocean Exploration Trust discovered an intact shipwreck resting hundreds of feet below the surface of Lake Huron. Located within NOAA's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the shipwreck has been identified as the sailing ship Ironton. Well preserved by the cold freshwater of the Great Lakes for over a century, the 191-ft. Ironton rests upright with its three masts still standing."Using this cutting-edge technology, we have not only located a pristine shipwreck lost for over a century…

An Inland River Transportation Caucus could help inland river transportation interests that are often misunderstood and greatly undervalued.For anyone doing business on the inland river transportation system, the goal is to keep the rivers open for business, the barges moving and the landside facilities efficient in order to keep America’s supply chain strong.To accomplish this, it takes the federal agencies that are charged with operating and maintaining inland rivers to have the support of congress, the funding congress allocates and legislation passed by congress.

Waterway traffic is coming back. November 2021 saw 52.1 million tons moving on the U.S. inland waterway system, the highest monthly tonnage since October 2019, a few months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shutdowns and stoppages of early 2020. Flows estimated by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, based on data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) show a 25% rise from June 2020. Data in a presentation by The Waterways Council Inc (WCI)…

If you and your crew are facing questions about ballast water management (BWM) and related regulatory deadlines, it would be worth your while to download a new (January 2021) “Ballast Water Management Systems User Guide,” an extensive, in-depth look at evaluating, selecting and installing a BWM system. The guide was published by MARAD and Glosten for the Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP). It is geared primarily toward U.S.-flag operators in domestic and international trade.As most mariners know, BWM, overseen federally by U.S. EPA and the Coast Guard, includes a number of activities.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $9.5 million in grants to eight marine highways projects across the Nation under the America’s Marine Highway Program. The funding supports the enhancement of navigable waterways and expands existing waterborne freight services in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and American Samoa.“This Federal assistance will provide additional options to reduce congestion on the roads and help the surrounding local communities’ and the regions’ economic recovery…

The combination of the coronavirus pandemic and oil price freefall have affected most maritime markets, including inland waterway shipping. Looking at U.S. river transport in particular, the impacts of these two black swan events vary greatly depending on the type of cargo being carried.David Grzebinski, CEO of the America’s largest tank barge operator, Kirby Corp., said in a March conference call that petrochemical customers have driven the market higher as plants and refineries look to shore up their supply chains amid current market upheavals…

As the nation continues to be impacted by COVID-19, there are silver linings to the crisis: family time and togetherness, gratitude for what we had before it was taken away, and a chance to seek opportunities to be better and more productive.As funding bills related to the COVID-19 crisis move forward, there may be an opportunity for the nation to better itself by modernizing its infrastructure.Congress has, to date as of this writing, passed three phases of a coronavirus relief package.

Thirteen people are confirmed dead and another 28 are thought to be missing after a river boat sank in the northern Brazilian state of Amapa, the state government said on Monday.Another 46 people were rescued after the sinking of the vessel late on Saturday roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the municipality of Laranjal do Jari in the Amazon rainforest, the government said in a statement on its website.Local news website G1 reported the vessel was making a roughly 36-hour journey between the cities of Santana in Amapa state and Santarem in neighboring Para.

Golar LNG, a liquefied natural gas shipping company registered in Bermuda, said that its joint venture with Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, Golar Power Limited has been awarded a 25 year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the construction of a 605MW combined cycle thermal power plant.The LNG-to-power Project will be developed by CELBA (Centrais Eletricas Barcarena S/A), a special purpose company 50% controlled by Golar Power.Located in the Brazilian city of Barcarena, State of Pará, the 605MW power plant will utilize imported LNG for the generation of electricity using modern H-Class gas turbines, which will then be distributed to…

The U.S. towing and tug business is 5,500 boats, more than 31,000 barges with an estimated total impact on U.S. GDP of $33.8 billion.“At a macro level, the bigger ships are causing downward pressure on the ship assist business because there are fewer ship calls given the increased capacity of these vessels. However, certain ports have seen tremendous growth, based on strategic location and infrastructure investments that have attracted these larger ships and been a net plus for these areas.”Kate Fuhrman…

MobileOps, Inc. said it has recently signed a term contract with inland river transportation company Crounse Corporation.Crounse provides full service barge transportation as well as harbor and fleeting services. MobileOps software will assist Crounse with vessel and safety management, as well as auditing processes.“The MobileOps team is very excited and grateful to have the opportunity to work with such a high caliber company like Crounse Corporation”, said Vice President of business development Greg Armfield.MobileOps is a cloud-based subscription solution that includes Vessel Management…

As cargo handling capacity increases along the Mississippi River, this 15-mile section of the Mighty Mississippi is being called the Ag Coast. Located in the heartland of America, one 15-mile section of the Mississippi River in the St. Louis, Missouri, region delivers the highest level of grain barge handling capacity anywhere along the Mighty Mississippi. In fact, it is now being called the “Agriculture or Ag Coast” of America in terms of barge transfer facilities for agricultural products. To sustain and grow this impressive market share, infrastructure investment in multimodal interconnectivity is critical. And as production and demand for commodities like corn and soybeans continue to increase, the St.

Damen Shipyards Group said it has secured an order with German heavy lift company Combi Lift to build a total of 19 specially customized shallow draught vessels. The vessels will be used to transport oversized and heavy lift cargo for the Gazprom Amur Gas Processing Plant Project in the Russian Far East. The multiple vessel order comprises four Multi Cats 2608SD, four Pusher Tugs 2612SD, seven Stan Pontoons 8916SD and four Side Floaters 8605SD. Combi Lift’s role in the Gazprom Amur Gas Processing Plant Project will be to transport over 176…

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…

Central Asia is a booming oil region not far from the Persian Gulf. Energy companies ply the big lake to rack up staggering barrel counts at elephantine oilfields with names like Tengiz (Kazakhstan) or Kashagan (Azerbaijan). Painstaking, oil-fueled nation-building is underway across an oil province, where very shallow water hinders plant and equipment moves by platform supply vessels. Until now — new module-carrying vessels, or MCVs will float high-capital cargoes through Russia’s river system and across the Caspian shallows to Chevron’s Tengiz Extension project.

The business portfolio internationalization and the development of river operations are two of ETE Group’s strategic focus, as referred last Friday on the 80th birthday ceremonies at Naval Rocha shipyard (in Lisbon) with the presence of the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Minister for the Sea Affairs, Ana Paula Vitorino and the Minister for Environment, Matos Fernandes. According to Luis Nagy, the CEO, “at ETE Group we are  starting the ninth decade with a strong focus on the internationalization of our operations, which have been growing and, we hope, will represent, in 5 years’ time, 30 to 40% of our turnover, against the present 10%.

A leading US maritime consultancy established in 1996, SMSLLC provides practical risk mitigation solutions for vessel operators and stakeholders. Clients include a broad range of operators including Genesis Marine, American River Transportation Company, Seabulk Towing, Military Sealift Command and others. Primary services include, Regulatory Advisement, Internal Auditing, Risk Management, and the creation of Management Systems. SMS LLC has been in the business of bringing practical safety management solutions to the marine industry for 20 years.

Officials from POSCO, the Ports of Indiana and community leaders gathered to break ground today on POSCO's new wire rod processing center at the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville. POSCO is a multinational company headquartered in Pohang, South Korea, and the fifth-largest steel producer in the world. The new $19 million facility is expected to begin operations in 2017 and create up to 60 high-wage jobs by 2018. POSCO is South Korea's fourth largest company, behind Samsung Electronics, SK Holdings and Hyundai Motors, and is ranked No. 162 in Fortune's Global 500. "When a global company like POSCO selects Indiana for its newest plant, it is a strong endorsement of our state's pro-business environment and talented workforce," said Governor Mike Pence.