Barge Company 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…

“Not only does the top of the river move, but the bottom of the river also moves.” - James Bodron, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, Regional Business Director.Dredging was the Herculean act that allowed much of the U.S. economy to keep chugging along as usual, at least for Midwest and Central states, as drought conditions threatened to shut down river traffic on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, during fall and winter 2022 and early 2023.The full scope of these U.S.

Offshore service vessels, along with workboats serving harbors and inland rivers, have embarked on an industry-wide voyage toward reduced emissions of greenhouse gasses. Professor Craig Philip, a faculty member with Vanderbilt University’s Center for Transportation and Operational Resilience (VECTOR) and former CEO of Ingram Barge Company, provides this context: “The Maritime Sector has long provided shippers with the most fuel-efficient and sustainable freight transport option…

I. MoneyNo one ever said it’s easy to understand federal budgets and spending plans. Nevertheless, a general sense of clarity and straightforwardness is critical for any review of public expenditures. This becomes more pressing when tracking revenue and expenditures linked to specific users’ fees, such as the $0.29/gallon fuel tax, paid by inland waterways operators. In 2021, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) held $221.5 million, money earmarked to build, maintain and operate…

The fuel switch in maritime is on, its real, and it will be driving vessel design, construction and operation decisions for decades to come. While many still debate the merits of each alternative fuel, OSV industry leaders are at the forefront driving change, and they need to be, as in North America alone OSVs makes up 17% of the fleet but contributes 29% of the maritime emissions. In the next edition of Offshore Engineer, Barry Parker takes a deeper dive on the plans underway to wean maritime operations off of fossil fuels.

As 2022 moves into its final months, low water levels and drought form the basis of the news impacting inland waterways operators and barge companies. In the first week of October, numerous barges were reported grounded in the Mississippi River, particularly south of Baton Rouge. This has consequences: barge rates jumped 218% in St. Louis, compared to 2021.Low water was so severe that on October 7 Ingram Barge CEO John Roberts issued a force majeure notice (force majeure - unforeseeable…

The integrity of the marine transportation system as a key plank in a country's economic prosperity is in heightened focus today, with logistics snarls contributing to fast rising inflation. Maintaining the integrity of the vast U.S. inland waterway system - with more than 12,000 miles of inland and intracoastal waterways including 218 lock chambers at 176 sites - is the focus of the Maritime Risk Symposium 2022, a 2.5-day conference scheduled for November 15-17, hostd by Argonne National Laboraty's TCS Conference Center.On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, James P.

Ingram Barge Company, one of the country’s largest barge shippers, said Thursday it was “providing formal notice of a force majeure event” as low water on the Mississippi River disrupted its operations on the major shipping waterway.The declaration would affect the portion of Ingram’s operating network at locations downriver from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Ingram Barge Chief Executive John Roberts said in an emailed statement. (Reuters - Reporting by Karl Plume; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Commercial barge traffic on southern stretches of the Mississippi River was at a standstill on Tuesday as low water levels halted shipments of grain, fertilizer and other commodities on the critical waterway, shipping sources said.The supply chain snarl comes just as harvesting of corn and soybeans, the largest U.S. cash crops, is ramping up and as tight global supplies and strong demand for food and fuel have sent inflation soaring.Around 100 tow boats hauling some 1,600 barges were lined up for miles waiting to pass through one trouble spot near Lake Providence…

New Orleans-based Canal Barge Company, Inc. has received a Federal Ship Financing Program (commonly known as “Title XI”) loan guarantee amount of $51,458,000 over 25 years for three new towboats and 17 new barges, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced.The loan guarantee approved for Canal Barge Company, Inc. supports the modernization of the company’s barges and towboats, which service the inland waterways of the Ohio, Lower Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.“The Title XI program supports the construction of vessels in U.S.

It’s amazing to consider that a commercial vessel in the Pacific Ocean, approaching the mouth of the Columbia River, can continue its eastward journey to finally tie up at the Port of Lewiston, in Lewiston, Idaho, America’s most inland West Coast port, 465 miles from the Pacific Ocean.The Columbia and Snake Rivers form that critical east-west waterway, an economic powerhouse regionally, nationally and internationally. According to the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA)…

Inland waterways, sometimes called ‘nature’s superhighways’ provide a strategic advantage related to security, economics, and trade for any nation whose geography, topography, and climate enable this natural infrastructure. Economic benefits are realized in small rural areas through large urban communities that utilize the system for efficient transportation and improved markets. However, deliberate operational, resource, and policy efforts, along with broad stakeholder integration, are required to maintain and operate such a system.

The inland waterways have enjoyed several positive developments toward modernization of the system, particularly over the last two years.Annual appropriations that fund the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission have been steadily on the rise for the last nine fiscal years, specifically the Construction and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) accounts have been funded at historic levels. The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021 provided a…

Nashville-based Ingram Marine Group, one of the largest barging companies in the U.S., announced Monday that David O’Loughlin will retire from his role as CEO. He will be succeeded by John Roberts, the company’s current chief operating officer, who will take the helm as the new president and CEO on February 1. O’Loughlin will stay with the company as vice chair for the remainder of 2022 to assist with the transition. “Dave has been invaluable to our company and our people,” said Ingram Barge Company chairman Orrin H. Ingram II.

Through a complex operation to offload bulk salt, NORDEN is optimizing the supply chain for customer Empremar.At a chemical plant in California, 30,000 tonnes of salt is being offloaded from a bulk carrier onto a private terminal. The salt will be taken directly to the plant and used to make chlorine.This shipment is one of eight per year that NORDEN will make for Chilean salt miner Empremar. While NORDEN has been shipping salt to the US for Empremar for 20 years, this is the…

Ingram Marine Group held a re-christening ceremony on August 30 for four towboats that are part of its inland waterways fleet."At Ingram, we name our vessels after Ingram associates and affiliates who have made a huge difference to our business, which makes these events an incredibly special time for all of us," said Orrin Ingram, Chairman of Ingram Barge Company and CEO of Ingram Industries. "I thank the four men being honored for all that they’ve done for Ingram and the marine industry at large…

U.S.-based inland waterways shipping company Ingram Marine Group on Wednesday held a ceremony to christen the Adrienne M. Moore and honor of the soon-to-be-completed Tom Cornwell. The sister towboats are the first of 10 vessels that Cenac Marine and Main Iron are under contract to build for Ingram Marine.The twin-screw 78’x32’x10’ vessels are designed by Main Iron Works, Ingram Marine Group and Ashraf Degedy PE. Each is powered by Caterpillar C32 Tier 3 rated main engines (Adrienne M.

Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc. and three former and current management officials from the Long Island-based petroleum barge company have paid $375,000 in restitution to the brother of one of two seamen killed in a 2017 barge explosion off Port Aransas, Texas.The seaman alleged the company fired him for cooperating with investigators and reporting safety concerns to the U.S. Coast Guard following the deadly blast on board Buster Bouchard/B. No. 255. The National Transportation…

This year, despite innumerable challenges and setbacks, a great number of new U.S.-flagged vessels made their way into service. In addition to Maid of the Mist's new electric tour boats James V. Glynn and Nikola Tesla featured Wednesday, the newbuilds highlighted below are some of the most noteworthy to come out of U.S. shipyards in 2020.DredgerU.S. dredging contractors have been adding tonnage in a big way. This Spring, Callan Marine added a significant piece to the U.S. fleet with its new Jones Act cutterhead suction dredge (CSD) General MacArthur.

Nashville-based Ingram Barge Company announced Tuesday that its wholly-owned subsidiary Houston Fleeting Services has reached a deal to acquire the business assets Houston-based Cheryl K and San Jacinto River Fleet. According to Ingram Barge, the purchase allows it to expand its footprint into the Houston area and along the Texas Gulf Coast while simultaneously growing its logistics, dry barge and liquid barge businesses by adding critical infrastructure, vessels and personnel.