Barge Building News

Infrastructure-related products and solutions provider Arcosa said it is seeing signs of improvement in the U.S. barge building business following several years of low order levels.The Dallas-based company said in its second quarter earnings report that it received approximately $81 million in new barge orders, including mostly hopper barges scheduled for delivery in 2024.Arcosa's barge backlog at the end of the quarter was $287.1 million, up from $131.8 million at the end of the second quarter of 2022.

Louisiana shipbuilder Conrad Shipyard has emerged as the winner of a nearly $19 million contract for the detail design and construction of a new Yard, Repair, Berthing, and Messing (YRBM) craft for the U.S. Navy.YRBM barges provide a temporary home away from home and workplace for service men and women whose vessels are in port for repairs and/or maintenance. Conrad said its design incorporates functional spaces which allow the sailors to work, sleep and eat comfortably.The $18…

Canada's Island Tug and Barge (ITB) christened the second of two new ATB tugs, the Island Regent, at its headquarters in Burnaby.The Island Regent was designed by acclaimed Robert Allan Ltd. naval architects and marine engineers of Vancouver, B.C. to be paired with ITB’s double-hulled oil tank barge, the ITB Reliant, as an articulated tug and barge (ATB), said a press release from the subsidiary of Tidewater Canada.Bob Curcio, Tidewater President and CEO said: “The first ATB, the Island Raider and ITB Resolution, has performed exceptionally well in its first year of service. We are excited to have the Island Regent and ITB Reliant joining it soon.

American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) named Mark K. Knoy as its president and chief executive officer in August 2011. Prior to joining ACBL, he was vice president of American Electric Power’s (AEP) Fuel, Emissions and Logistics Group and president of AEP River Operations, having joined AEP with its 2001 purchase of MEMCO Barge Line. From 1984 to 1994, he was owner/operator of The Mark Twain Towing Company and Delmar Marine, Inc., Pekin, Illinois. He began his career in 1973 working aboard towboats on the inland waterways as a deck hand and then as a captain.

Metal Trades, Inc. (MTI) has launched a newly built shallow-draft push boat for Bald Head Island Limited, LLC. (BHI). The new vessel, Capt Cooper, was christened during a June 27 ceremony at the builder’s Yonges Island, S.C. facility. As the first self-powered vessel built by MTI, Capt Cooper signals an expansion of MTI’s service offering to include new vessel construction. The 55-year-old company has been active in heavy metal fabrication, barge building and vessel repair for government and commercial customers.

Moran Iron Works (MIW) was recently awarded a contract to build two ocean going deck barges for Durocher Marine, a division of Kokosing Construction Co., based in Cheboygan, Michigan. The two deck barges will be 180’ X 54’ X 12’ with 2,500 lb/ft2 deck strength and 2,400 short ton cargo capacity. They will be built in accordance with International Maritime Organization (IMO), American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), and United States Coast Guard (USCG) regulations and classifications. The barges will follow ABS rules for building and classing steel barges for offshore service. They will be classed as ABS A1 Ocean Service Deck Barges and will have an International Load Line Certificate.

The term short-sea shipping comes up aplenty these days, as the powers-that-be rediscover the practicalities and the economies of waterborne transport. The thinking is renewed and the interest revitalized, but for a lot of harbors nationwide it's deja vu. Take the island city of New York, and the multitudes of communities near and far that are joined to it by inland waters—the rivers, sounds, creeks, streams—all the way up to Albany, to Waterford and the Canal system, and to everything beyond that. There's nothing new about the short-sea shipping principle around here.

Work in progress at one of Bollinger’s OPA’90 barge building facilities continues on schedule, as the backlog increases with the signing of two 60,000 and one 80,000 BBL offshore units for Bouchard. Bollinger Gretna, L.L.C., and Bollinger Marine Fabricators, L.L.C., two Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. facilities, have signed contracts for new construction of three OPA’90 compliant tank barges, consisting of one (1) 80,000, and two (2) 60,000 barrel (BBL) units for Bouchard Ocean Services, L.L.C., Melville, N.Y.

MarineNews: What did you do before coming to Senesco Marine, and how did you get into the shipbuilding industry? How does your former field compare/contrast with the marine business? Gary Schuler: I served as CEO of Bostitch, a $500 million producer of pneumatic tools and fasteners, from 1980-1990. After leaving there, I was involved in some turnaround situations before joining an investment partnership. The majority investor at Senesco Marine, whom I've know for about 20 years, gave me an opportunity to invest in the company and become CEO. So that's how I got into the shipbuilding business. I had no prior experience in shipbuilding, but I have been in manufacturing all my life, specifically in the design, production, and delivery of pre-engineered metal buildings.

In the fall of 1990, the Berlin Wall came down, thus unifying Germany into one nation — and marking the end of the Cold War. One year following the fall of the Iron Curtain, U.S. President George Bush and Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev signed the START treaty, which stated that both nations would agree to dismantle all nuclear weapons. How do these events half way around the world effect U.S. builders of boats and barges? Significantly, as it turns out. It appears that the fall in nuclear submarine production has given rise to one of the country’s fast growing barge building companies. The middle to late 1980s was a watershed of sorts for the U.S. shipbuilding industry.

Since planting its roots in 1925 as a small coal delivery business known as the Ohio River Company (ORCO), Midland Enterprises has evolved from one chartered boat and four barges to more than 85 boats and 2,400 barges moving the entire eastern inland waterways system. Established by Albert Converse Ingersoll, the Ohio River Company's main focus at that time was to float West Virginia coal to Cincinnati using its premiere boat — the E.D. Kenna. Built for its newest customer, Cincinnati Gas & Electric (the company's longest running business relationship), the vessel cost $179,325 in 1926. Subsequent to this successful venture, the company's demand continued to grow, causing a need for added capital. Ingersoll called upon C.E.

Hinge-Ship is a patented concept designed to combine the advantages of both deep draft and shallow draft shipping within the confines of a single vessel. The concept, if proven viable, could help to further the mandate of shaving valuable time from the transportation of goods from "point A to point B," as it would literally eliminate the need for storage at transshipment points and the transfer of cargo to other vessels, and all of the time and cost inherent in both. The essence of the design is that the vessel is split on centerline, and provided with a hinge. This arrangement, according to its designer John H. Leary, P.E., of Leary Engineering in New Orleans…

According to the Tribune Review, an aging barge fleet coupled with high scrap steel pricing and demand from the biodiesel and ethanol industries has launched a barge-building boom, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the 1970s, industry experts say. Brownsville Marine Products, LLC, of Fayette County, hopes to cash in on the construction boom, and is building barges as it can, carrying on a tradition of barge building on that stretch of the Monongahela River that began with the old Hillman Barge Co. in 1938. Nationally, a fleet of more than 27,000 barges moves over 800 million tons a year of raw materials and finished goods over the 25,000-mile inland waterway system, adding about $5 billion annually to the U.S. economy, according to the trade group.

SeaBuilders, LLC said it is accepting orders for the first quarter of 2008 to construct 30,000 barrel and 60,000 barrel oil barges. The company also announced that it has received an initial $3 million round of funding from Harbor Bunkering Corporation of Puerto Rico. SeaBuilders shipyard opened to provide capacity, as well as a new, more efficient approach to barge building, according to the company. SeaBuilders is expecting to leverage its Lean Manufacturing Process to build barges faster, more efficiently and more cost effectively. "We are delighted to offer the industry a solution — SeaBuilders is available to now take orders and by leveraging the Lean Manufacturing Process…

SPS Limited Partnership LLLP (SPS) of Baltimore, MD and Canton, MA has leased the 1,200 ft. shipbuilding basin (the Graving Dock) located at the Sparrows Point Shipyard/Industrial Complex, Sparrows Point , MD to Senesco Marine, North Kingstown, RI. The lease involves the construction of the barge portion of the ATB, is effective Tuesday, November 15 for a period of approximately 13 months and, according to Senesco Marine representatives, is expected to bring in excess of 120 new employees to the Shipyard. Initial work on the tug portion of the barge took place at Quonset Point Shipyard, North Kingstown, RI, but could not be completed there due to space limitations.

DBL 28 the 1st in a series of eight OPA’90 compliant, Lakes, Bays & Sounds, ABS and USCG certified tank barges delivered from Bollinger to K-Sea Transportation for use in harbor service in ports on the Northeast U. S. Coast. Bollinger Marine Fabricators, LLC, (BMF) Amelia, La., a Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. company, has delivered the DBL 28, a double hull, oil tank barge built to meet the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA’90), to K-Sea Transportation Partners L.P, Staten Island, N.Y. Following the delivery of the DBL 28, Bollinger announced the signing of four sister ships. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. The 28,000 BBL capacity DBL 28 measures 297.6-feet in length, with a 54-foot beam and 13-foot depth.

Trinity Marine Products held a barge launching ceremony on February 14 at its Madisonville, La., barge-building facility. This Barge Launch marks the completion of the first tank barge manufactured by Trinity Marine Products for Marathon Ashland Petroleum, LLC, as part of a new 5-year contract between the 2 companies. will be on hand for the event. Trinity Marine Products signed a 5-year contract with Marathon Ashland Petroleum in July 2002. Six barges will be completed in 2003, with an option to manufacture nine additional tank barges by 2006. Marathon will use the barges for transporting refined petroleum products. Paul Mauer, president Trinity Marine Products, stated, "It is with great pride that we launch this barge for Marathon Ashland Petroleum.

Well-known in the shipbuilding industry as a quality builder of various vessels and as a specialist in ship and barge repair, conversions and barge flaring, Lockport, La.-based Bollinger Shipyards has made a name for itself as a major builder of barges used on inland waterways and ocean-going uses. Stemming from the shipyard's growth are five contracts for 17 specialized large barges ranging in sizes from 240 to 365 ft. Some were recently delivered, while others will be sent off before year-end 2000. According to Lynn Falgout, vice-president and general manager of Bollinger Marine Fabricators, "Until April 1997, we had had a limited barge program in eight shipyards.

Trinity Marine Products held a barge launching ceremony recently at its Madisonville, La., barge-building facility. The barge launch marks the completion of the first tank barge manufactured by Trinity Marine Products for Marathon Ashland Petroleum, LLC, as part of a new five-year contract between the companies. Trinity Marine Products signed a five-year contract with Marathon Ashland Petroleum in July 2002. Six barges will be completed in 2003, with an option to manufacture nine additional tank barges by 2006. Marathon will use the barges for transporting refined petroleum products. Paul Mauer, president Trinity Marine Products, said, "It is with great pride that we launch this barge for Marathon Ashland Petroleum.

Well-known in the shipbuilding industry as a quality builder of various vessels and as a specialist in ship and barge repair, conversions and barge flaring, Lockport, La.-based Bollinger Shipyards has made a name for itself as a major builder of barges used on inland waterways and ocean-going uses. Stemming from the shipyard's growth are five contracts for 17 specialized large barges ranging in sizes from 240 to 365 ft. (73.1 x 111.2 m) Some were recently delivered, while others will be sent off before year-end 2000. According to Lynn Falgout, vice president and general manager of Bollinger Marine Fabricators, "Until April 1997, we had had a limited barge program in eight shipyards.

Southeastern New England Shipbuilding Corporation (SENESCO), North Kingstown, R.I., has penned a contract with Barges Unlimited of Fall River, Mass. to construct an 80,000-barrel, 320-ft. (97.5 m) double hull barge valued at more than $6.5 million. Per the agreement, SENESCO will manufacture the largest double hull barge ever constructed in the Northeast. Work is expected to commence immediately and is expected to take up to one year for completion, at which time it will be utilized by Seaboats for transportation and delivery of light oil products.