America’s tugboat, towboat and barge industry moves 800 million tons of cargo a year on our nation’s inland and coastal waterways. Moving this cargo safely – minimizing risks to people, property, and the environment -- is the industry’s number one goal. The Coast Guard-AWO Safety Partnership, a groundbreaking public private partnership between the U.S. Coast Guard and The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, tracks trends in towing industry safety performance. Using government data from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Partnership monitors vessel casualties, oil spills, and crew fatalities, promoting continuous improvement and providing focus to Coast Guard-industry safety initiatives.
