Inland Barge News

Amogy Inc., developer of emissions-free ammonia power solutions, announced it has signed a letter of intent and a lease with Sustainable Energy Catapult Center to initiate testing operations for its 200kW ammonia-to-power platform at its recently-launched testing facility for new and sustainable energy solutions in Stord.Amogy announced the opening of its Stavanger, Norway headquarters and the appointment of Christian Berg as Managing Director of Amogy Norway in September 2022.

Ammonia power solutions company Amogy announced it is partnering with Southern Devall to trial its ammonia-to-power technology for the first time in the maritime market as the industry strives to reduce its vessel emissions.Amogy’s proprietary ammonia-to-power system converts ammonia into hydrogen for use in fuel cells or as a more energy dense method of long-distance hydrogen transportation. The system, already demonstrated in a farming tractor and aerial drone, is now being scaled for use in larger applications…

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)…

The Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association’s retiring executive director reflects on key progress made and vital work remaining.As my tenure as President, Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association (GICA) ends after 11 years, it is gratifying look at the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and reflect on its compelling relevance to our nation. Often referred to as the “Silent Giant,” as I wrote in this publication in 2014, the Giant indeed awoke and emerged as a vital waterway which delivers…

The construction of a new inland port at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers took another step forward on Tuesday as the Alexander Cairo Port District completed a project labor agreement (PLA) with the Illinois AFL-CIO. The project labor agreement ensures that more than 500 jobs created by the construction of the Cairo port will be filled by local Illinois union workers.The Alexander-Cairo port represents one of the largest investments in Southern Illinois in decades.

The inland waterway system, flowing through the United States heartland, is a microcosm of all that has been happening in 2020: trade tensions, infrastructure issues, shifting trends in fuel consumption and the pandemic that has gripped us since the winter months. Shortly after the initial coronavirus outbreak here in the U.S., maritime workers were deemed to be “essential”, paving the way for cargo flows to recover from their springtime nadir. As COVID-19 infections turned up on U.S. shores, the boats continued plying the waterways, albeit with reduced volumes in some cases.

U.S. inland barge transportation company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) has named Mike Ellis as the company’s new chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors, effective August 17, 2020.Ellis will take the helm following ACBL's recently completed Chapter 11 recapitalization and restructuring, succeeding retiring president and CEO Mark Knoy, who has led the company since 2011.“Following a thorough search, we are delighted to welcome Mike Ellis as ACBL’s new CEO…

American Commercial Lines Inc. (ACL) said on Friday it expects to complete its recapitalization and emerge from Chapter 11 in the coming weeks after the U.S. Bankrptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division confirmed the company's pre-packaged plan. ACL announced it would implement the recapitalization plan in February. Upon emergence, the company will receive $200 million in new capital to support liquidity and investments in the business and will reduce its funded debt by approximately $1 billion…

There’s a barge full of reasons why many operators turn to ATBs.A  mainstay of the U.S. coastwise dirty and refined products trades, articulated tug barges (ATB) have increasingly filled a void left as the fleet of Jones Act tankers (with crew complement requirements exceeding that of tugs) has aged out. With the cargo capacity of the larger ATBs – some with barges exceeding 300,000 barrels capacity – rivalling that of workhorse tankers that had served oil consuming regions, the concept certainly makes sense from a supply and distribution perspective.With 50…

Jennifer A. Carpenter serves as President & CEO of The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat and barge industry. Carpenter joined AWO in August 1990 and became President & CEO in January 2020. Before assuming her current position, she worked her way up the hawsepipe from Government Affairs Assistant to Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, holding a series of progressively responsible positions including Manager-Regulatory Issues…

Hawaii Congressman Ed Case has introduced three bills in Congress to reform Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (commonly referred to as the Jones Act), which he states “artificially inflates the cost of shipping goods to Hawaii”.Case’s three measures and their proposed amendments to the Jones Act are:the Noncontiguous Shipping Relief Act, which exempts all noncontiguous U.S. locations, including Hawaii, from the Jones Act;the Noncontiguous Shipping Reasonable Rate Act, which benchmarks…

“In God we trust. All others must have data.”When Ed Grimm took the helm of Southern Towing Company (STC)as President and CEO, he inherited an enviable team of leaders, engineers, mentors, communicators and analysts. Today STC is a clear leader on the inland waterways, pioneering and proving the business and safety value of Z-Drives on the river towboats.How did you come to the top spot at Southern Towing Company?I started in the energy industry at 16 working at an oil storage depot in New York Harbor, working there through high school and putting myself through college.

Texas-based midstreamer Howard Energy Partners (Hep) announced that it’s completed the expansions of its bulk liquid terminal facilities in Port Arthur and Corpus Christi, Texas.The completion of these projects increases HEP’s Gulf Coast terminal storage capacity to 2.6 million barrels with three ship docks, three barge docks, unit train loading capacity for up to two trains per day, and direct pipeline connectivity through wholly-owned pipelines to seven refineries. HEP began operating terminal facilities in mid-2014.“The substantial expansions at our Port Arthur and Corpus Christi facilities signify HEP’s commitment to designing and constructing fully-engineered facilities that are tailored to meet the exact needs of our customers…

Another year; another major fleet takeover by Kirby Corporation. But the leader of the inland tank-barge sector is not growing for growth’s sake: a deeper look at the numbers shows a disciplined strategy at work.“Kirby is definitely the big gorilla in the inland barge market,” affirmed Jefferies analyst Randy Giveans. Indeed, Houston-headquartered Kirby Corp has been extremely active buying fleets over the past few years, most recently acquiring the 63 tank barges of Cenac Marine in March for $244 million.

Barge transportation comprises an extensive network, ideal for carrying seaborne cargo to inland destinations and exports alike. Responsible, in part, for the worldwide trade of bulk transport, the industry is of great significance to the agricultural sector. In North America, The Army Corps of Engineers maintains and operates over 12,000 miles of canals, rivers, and inland waterways. The Illinois Waterway and Mississippi River are the major waterways in the region that are responsible for moving agricultural and farm products through barges.

A new short-sea container service between Amsterdam and Hull has been formally inaugurated with the first call of the 340-TEU vessel THEA II at Amsterdam Container Terminal (ACT). The new service, operated by leading short sea container operator Samskip, offers three sailings a week on this new route with vessels departing from Amsterdam on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Commenting on the new service, Clemence Cheng, Managing Director of Hutchison Ports Europe, said: “Amsterdam Container Terminal offers shipping lines the opportunity to serve their customers in a fast, efficient, reliable and sustainable manner. ACT is operated by TMA Logistics in which Hutchison Ports is a 50% shareholder.

Samskip has announced a major enhancement in its shortsea and multimodal services between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, with the addition of direct connections between Amsterdam and Hull three times a week. The value proposition to customers will also include barge and rail systems connecting the European hinterland to Amsterdam. With effect from mid-March, and departing from Amsterdam on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, the new calls and the port's European hinterland systems augment Samskip's existing Rotterdam-Hull operation and runs alongside shortsea and multimodal services into Tilbury and Grangemouth. Richard Beales…

Heineken Netherlands, Nedcargo and sustainable fuel market-leader GoodFuels have launched a pilot to demonstrate a sustainable drop-in marine fuel on-board of the ‘For Ever’ – an inland barge dedicated to transport Heineken export beer, from the Heineken brewery in Zoeterwoude to the deep-sea terminals in Rotterdam. The advanced marine fuel supplied by GoodFuels contains 30% biofuel and thereby reduces CO2-emissions by more than 25%, whilst also sharply reducing local emissions as nitrogen and particulate matter. The project will showcase the possibility of reducing emissions of inland waterway transport without any vessel modification. The exact emission reduction compared to fossil fuel will be monitored live during the pilot using Blueco’s Konnexus system for remote monitoring.

Pat Folan is a partner in Daphne, Ala.-based Tug & Barge Solutions, a safety and compliance company that focuses on Subchapter M compliance for towing companies. The company also performs surveys of towing vessels and barges, manages safety management systems for towing companies and trains people on towing vessels and in offices. A professional mariner, for 27 years, he also operated towing vessels from Maine to Corpus Christi, Texas, including the Alabama Rivers, Lower Mississippi, Great Lakes and Erie Canal. A graduate of St.

The Georgia Ports Authority achieved outstanding January results, with double-digit growth across all business sectors and a 26 percent increase in total tonnage. "The Port of Savannah is unrivaled in its connectivity into the heartland of the U.S. and the service excellence that port customers enjoy," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. Lynch credited those supply chain efficiencies for the record 3 million tons of cargo GPA moved in January, up 623,504 tons compared to the same month a year ago. Containerized trade saw strong growth, with 331,468 twenty-foot equivalent units crossing the docks at the Port of Savannah, up 16.2 percent, or 46,167 TEUs. Of that trade, loaded containers accounted for approximately 268,000 TEUs, also a record.

Today the Georgia Ports Authority announced the sale of 500 acres of property for commercial development to accommodate growing customer demand for warehousing, distribution and transload facilities near the Port of Savannah. The new development, located on five parcels of land at GPA's Savannah River International Trade Park, is less than five miles from the Garden City Container Terminal and can accommodate up to 5 million square feet of logistics space. "Today's announcement will help further establish Savannah as a gateway port for the U.S. Southeast and beyond," said Executive Director Griff Lynch. The project is just one mile from I-95 and will help fill a growing need to service a larger range of customers from the Southeast to the Midwest U.S.

SCA’s Matt Paxton weighs in on the state of domestic shipbuilding – workboat building & everything in between. As President of the Shipbuilders Council of America, the national trade association representing the U.S. shipyard industrial base, we are constantly evaluating the status of the nation’s commercial vessel building and repair base. American shipyards continue to build to the highest standards for diverse range of customers. These vessels built by American workers go on to serve an integral part to our national economic well-being and basic security responsibilities.

Sectors of the U.S. market are hot, but for how long? Five key variables drive the domestic brown water market. The challenging operating climate currently facing blue water, international trades can and sometimes does overshadow what happens on the American side of the big pond. But, as they often say in London, “When America sneezes; the rest of the world catches a cold.” Hence, what happens in the U.S. brown water, workboat markets – encompassing more than 39,500 hulls and 98 percent of our collective domestic merchant fleet – is especially important. Looking ahead, at least five variables will drive those markets in the months to come. Regulatory changes are already having a marked impact on the industry, but much of that is still yet to come.