Hopper Barge News

Belle Chasse, La. shipyard C&C Marine and Repair said it is seeing record demand for barge repair work as high steel prices place a damper on newbuild activity.The yard, having recently signed a contract to reside over 200 hopper barges for an unnamed customer, said it is currently delivering refurbished hopper barges at a pace of one per week.“With current steel prices, operators are choosing to repair their existing fleet of barges rather than building new,” said C&C Marine and Repair’s owner Tony Cibilich.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report into the collision between a general cargo vessel and a split hopper barge in the Bornholmsgat traffic separation scheme off Sweden that resulted in the loss of two lives.The UK registered general cargo vessel Scot Carrier and the Denmark registered split hopper barge Karin Høj collided, resulting in the capsize of the barge and the loss of its two crew on 13 December 2021.Safety issues identified in the…

Portugal’s Navalrocha Shipyard announced it has completed a multimillion-dollar repair project for Luxembourg-based company Jan De Nul Group as it targets growth across the Benelux dredging sector.The cluster-contract involving repair work to two split hopper barges and one trailing suction hopper dredger - Tiger, De Bougainville, and Le Guerrier - was finalized at the end of November 2022. Key elements of the project involved complex heavy-lift operations, to replace 40-tonne hydraulic cylinders, plus ballast water treatment system (BWTS) installations.

Rivers are critical corridors that connect cities and ecosystems alike. When drought develops, water levels fall, making river navigation harder and more expensive.In 2022, water levels in some of the world’s largest rivers, including the Rhine in Europe and the Yangtze in China, fell to historically low levels. The Mississippi River fell so low in Memphis, Tennessee, in mid-October that barges were unable to float, requiring dredging and special water releases from upstream reservoirs to keep channels navigable.Conditions on the lower Mississippi may be easing somewhat…

An electrical generator set (genset) failure and subsequent loss of steering led to the grounding of a towing vessel near Greenville, Miss., the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.The towing vessel Marquette Warrior was pushing 35 loaded dry cargo barges down the Lower Mississippi River on Nov. 21, 2021, when several barges grounded on the riverbank. Four barges were damaged, including a hopper barge with bean cargo that partially sank. None of the nine people on board the Marquette Warrior were injured.

Arcosa Marine Products, a manufacturer of barges used to transport cargo on U.S. inland waterways, is the newest participant in Green Marine – the largest voluntary environmental certification program for North America’s maritime industry.Part of Dallas based Arcosa, Inc., Arcosa Marine Products manufactures dry cargo barges, including flat-deck and hopper barges for the transport of a range of products that include grain, coal, and aggregates. The company also manufactures tank barges that carry petroleum, fertilizer, ethanol, chemicals, and other liquid cargos.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) today announced the immediate designation of four new Marine Highway Projects as part of the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). Projects in North Carolina, Alaska, and Puerto Rico will receive these designations. They can now apply for record levels of funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help address supply chain challenges.A Marine Highway Project is a planned service, or expansion of an existing service, on a designated Marine Highway Route.

Poor communication led to a tow striking a railway swing bridge near Slidell, La., the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in Marine Investigation Report released Thursday.On January 12, 2021, an empty hopper barge being pushed by the Robert Cenac struck the CSX Rigolets railway swing bridge while it was opening. The bridge sustained damage estimated at $1.1 million and the barge sustained minor damage estimated at $5,000. No injuries or pollution were reported.The pilot of the Robert Cenac called the bridge operator around 10:31 p.m. CST to request the bridge to be opened.

Aberdeen Harbour Board has awarded two new contracts for the construction of the South Breakwater and Crown Wall, with a total value of £60 million (USD 83,5 million)Dutch marine and offshore contractor Van Oord will act as the principal contractor for the 550-meter-long South Breakwater, and Scottish-based construction firm Beattie FRC will build the concrete Crown Wall along the length of the North Breakwater.Both structures will provide critical protection for vessels and operations within the Harbour expansion, ultimately protecting the port from a one-in-300-year storm.

After having recently announced the construction of its mega offshore jack-up installation vessel Voltaire, Jan De Nul Group has extended its fleet with three water injection dredgers (WID).Giovanni Venturi is the first out of three to be delivered by PaxOcean Shipyard. Jan De Nul Group recently purchased three offshore supply vessels and ordered the Singaporean shipyard to convert them into seagoing Water Injection Dredgers. Giovanni Venturi will be mobilized to its first project in Argentina.

LA based C&C Marine and Repair has announced the opening of their new indoor, climate controlled, Paint and Blast Facility. The 83,350 square foot facility can accommodate barges up to 320’x75’x20’ and will be able to blast and paint a standard 30,000 Barrel Tank Barge or two 10,000 Barrel Tank Barges in 7-10 days. The fully enclosed, climate-controlled facility is unaffected by inclement weather and allows for uninterrupted operation year round. “We modified technology that was being used to blast rail cars and containers and have successfully adapted the process to blast barges…

Ohio-based shipping firm the Interlake Steamship Company announced it will time charter a 418-foot, 14,400-short-ton capacity dry cargo barge from the U.S. East Coast to operate on the Great Lakes starting this spring.The single-hold covered hopper barge Montville, owned and operated by Connecticut-based towing services provider Moran Towing Corp, will be under charter through 2019 with options to extend.The time charter deal marks a first for Great Lakes carrier Interlake, whose owned fleet includes nine self-unloading vessels ranging in carrying capacity from 24,000 to 68,000 gross tons.

Plaquemines and American Patriot Holdings plan new container port-vessel system. Plans are underway for a new 4,200-acre intermodal container terminal within the Port of Plaquemines Harbor and Terminal District. The project, a partnership (Exclusivity Agreement) between the Port and American Patriot Holdings (APH) calls for the development of a logistics system for “vessel operations comprised of deep-water docking at the Pointe Celeste Container Terminal and multiple upriver terminals.” That’s the Mississippi River, of course, and initial upriver terminals could be sited in Memphis and St.

British shipyard and engineering company Cammell Laird said it plans to unleash an “aggressive exports drive” in 2017 after one of its busiest years for commercial marine work, which saw it land the biggest shipbuilding project in the U.K. for a generation. Cammell Laird CEO John Syvret said the winning of the £150 million contract to build the Sir David Attenborough polar research vessel for the U.K. Government “threw open” a new global market to build a range of high value polar vessels from research to cruise ships.

Great Lakes Shipyard was awarded a contract for drydocking and repairs by Geo Gradel & Co. for Tug JOHN FRANCIS on January 18, 2017. The tugboat was hauled out using the 770-MT Mobile Marine Travelift on January 19, 2017. Geo Gradel & Co. also awarded a contract to the Shipyard for drydocking and repairs for Hopper Barge Mobro 2000 on December 14, 2016. This contract includes significant metal repairs due to due to damages caused during the season. Work for both vessels is expected to be completed March 2017.

Sanmar Shipyards in Turkey said it is in the process of shipping a Robert Allan Limited designed Rascal Class ASD tugboat to Port Otago Limited (POL) in New Zealand. The new tug, Arihi, named in consultation with the local Rununga (Maori council), measures 18 m long, has a bollard pull of 30 t and was completed in less than five months from date of order. Arihi will be primarily used by POL in assisting in channel dredging, a task that began in 2015. The aim to have a maintained…

Some veteran Mississippi pushboats and barges have been transported to South America for second careers. However, conditions on a great river like the Paraguay-Paraná are different. It has sharp bends, shallow stretches, and includesremote reachestotally lacking in infrastructure. Building on extensive experience designing for the shallow rivers of Canada's frontiernorthland, Robert Allan Ltd., Naval Architects from Vancouver, BC have taken on the challenge of creating a new generation of specialized tug and barge systems to suit these demanding environments. A waterway logistics corporation, Hidrovias do Brasil, was the firm's first South American client to commission new purpose-built shallow draft vessels.

Ingram Barge Company sees two kinds of green in their newest venture on the inland rivers. In late March, the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority and Ingram Barge Company announced plans to assess the viability of Intermodal River Transportation, utilizing the largest flat-top crane in North America and Ingram’s towboats and barges. On March 27th, that plan came to life as the Paducah Riverport Authority’s 200-ton crane lifted 54 empty containers and stacked them neatly on an Ingram-owned barge. An Ingram towboat then transported the container laden barge to the port of St. Louis and then back to Paducah for unloading. The highly successful trial run tested the logistics of moving the intermodal containers via barge in the nation’s heartland.

Dredge Yard, a company specialized in dredging and mining components, equipment and technologies, shares insight  into the upgrading of equipment, modification of dredging system and conversion of existing vessels into dredgers. Upgrading existing dredger systems is quite practical as it offers reusability and functionality of the old dredger with low investment. Converting an existing vessel into dredger can help in increasing the capacity and capability of the dredging companies in much lesser time with a huge saving in investment.

Marine works involving dredging operations will be carried out near the Hong Kong Coliseum, Hung Hom for the next ten months, according to mardep.gov.hk. The works will be performed by one grab dredger and one hopper barge. One tug and one workboat will provide assistance. The works will be carried out by one grab dredger and one hopper barge, with one tug providing assistance, says Marine Department Notice. The number of vessels engaged in the works will change from time to time to suit operational requirements. Working area of approximately 50 meters around the dredger and barge will be established. Yellow marker buoys fitted with yellow flashing lights will be laid to mark the positions of the anchors extending from the dredger and barge.

Ingram Barge Company’s towboat, the M/V Miss Shirley, arrived at America’s Central Port in Granite City, Illinois, transporting containers via barge as part of a demonstration to show the viability of intermodal river transportation. “Currently our nation’s highways and railways are operating near full capacity, while our inland waterways are vastly underutilized,” said Dan Mecklenborg, Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Ingram Barge Company. “We know there is substantial room to grow in transporting goods on the rivers with minimal investment.

TITAN Salvage, Crowley Maritime Corp.'s Houston-based marine salvage, emergency response and wreck removal company, has refloated and scuttled the largest section of the wrecked bulk carrier, Smart. The vessel was carrying a load of coal when it went aground in August 2013 in heavy seas in Richards Bay, South Africa. Complications ensued when the carrier broke apart after only two days. At the end of 2013, TITAN’s experts were called to the scene, including Salvage Master Guy Wood…

The construction of a new vessel of dredging fleet, project TSHD 2000, has been launched to the RS class in Da Nang, Vietnam. The keel laying ceremony was held at Song Thu Corporation shipyard November 21, 2014. It was attended by Andrey Tarasenko, General Director of FSUE Rosmorport, and Pavel Shikhov, RS Chief Operating Officer. The ship has been designed by Damen Shipyards Gorinchem. RS class notation: KM Ice1 R1 AUT2 hopper dredger. A new vessel of dredging fleet is intended for extraction and removal of spoil, dredging of fairways, channels and roads to keep waterways safe.