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Edwin Fletcher News

17 Apr 2019

The Enduring, Iconic U.S. Flag ATB Model

The view from the Bouchard Boardroom and … beyond.The roots of the now familiar and reliable articulated tug and barge (ATB) business are deep and stretch all the way back to the 1800’s. Along the way, various patents to connect a tug and a barge with a secure mechanical connection were filed. The concept began to gather momentum in the late 1960’s when Edwin Fletcher with ARTUBAR, and the Bludworth family of flexible pushing systems were pioneering efforts to marry the economies of pushing with the safety and seakeeping inherent in mechanically linking the tug and barge at sea. Other systems were developed and tried; not all were successful.As a baseline…

08 Oct 2013

The ATB – What Does The Future Hold?

The AT/B comes of age: operating coastwise, Jones Act – and beyond the horizon, too. A great deal has been written about the capabilities of the AT/B, or “Articulated Tug/Barge” unit in recent years. Without a doubt, though, the concept is firmly established as a viable ocean and coastwise transportation system in North America. But like any transportation asset, the concept has to not only expand its’ capabilities, but also conform over time to ever-changing rules and regulations. It must also be able to embrace and adapt to changes in technology that hold the promise of reduced emissions as well as savings in fuel and protection of the environment.

11 Sep 2002

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. 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. • Weather delays caused by the uncertainties of towing of a barge in heavy weather, especially a barge carrying petroleum and chemical products, are a constant problem. Towing a large barge in heavy seas just off the coast is a risky business. The possibility of parted towlines, (not to mention the reality in several hundred cases) and lost, drifting barges, has haunted tug and barge operators - as well as the customers they serve - for years.