C&C Reports Record Demand for Barge Repair

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. “In the past, the industry norm was to scrap older hopper barges, but with current steel prices this practice needs to be reevaluated. Many of our customers are realizing that building new hopper barges is cost prohibitive.”

Since 2019, steel prices have risen sharply, and are still nearly triple the pre-COVD rates. As such, newbuild ordering has slowed, and the fleet of dry cargo barges operating on the Mississippi River system is aging.

With so many aging barges, operators will need to make difficult choices about their fleets, C&C Marine said, noting many existing barges are potential candidates for residing as owners seek cost-effective ways to maintain a stable fleet size.

“Operators should evaluate their existing fleet to see whether any of the older hopper barges have good bottoms. For those barges with good bottoms that can be economically resided, there is a potential to add 25 more years to the life of the barge, for less than half the price of building a new hopper barge,” Cibilich said.

C&C Marine said it has ramped up its production to accommodate the reside program without affecting its normal repair business. The yard has also hired shipyard industry veteran Nick Bergeron as head of its repair division.

During the reside process, C&C Marine typically renews approximately 130,000 pounds of steel per barge. In addition, C&C Marine blasts and paints each hopper barge in less than 24 hours.

“The great thing about C&C Marine and Repair is that we can provide every barge repair service at a single location,” Bergeron said.

C&C Marine and Repair was established in 1997 and is located on 80 acres along the Intracoastal Waterway. The shipyard performs new construction as well as a wide range of repair services, including barge residing, ISE work, topside repairs, hull damage repairs, bottom replacement, barge coatings and tank liners, blasting and painting.