Barge Transport News

“In a global marketplace, supply and demand in one area of the world can greatly impact the agricultural production in another. American products are shipped worldwide …” is how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) describes the backdrop for international trade. The inland and coastwise waterway systems serving the United States (where agricultural cargoes are an important component) are sometimes regarded as insular highly specialized marketplaces. However, they are indeed elements of much larger trading networks that are influenced by global economic…

"The Columbia River and its tributaries, wetlands, and estuaries are the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, providing abundant water, power, recreation, agriculture, transportation and natural resources that have supported livelihoods, cultural and spiritual practices, commerce and economic growth.” - President Biden, Memorandum of September 27, 2023.Those abundant benefits directly impact about 13 million people in the Pacific Northwest. Hydropower extends that plentitude to millions more, powering cities and industry from Idaho to California.

The inland waterways report in September 2022 edition of Marine News focused on issues facing the Lower Snake River Dams (LSRD) in the northwest, in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Walla Walla District.That report referenced issues and concerns confronting regional towboat and barge operators about possible changes to the Columbia Snake River System – perhaps even breaching the four Lower Snake River dams, a move with irreversible consequences.In August, a report by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee was completed and the report’s recommendations were published.

As 2022 appears on the not-so-distant horizon, we asked inland waterways executives to reflect on the major issues impacting their industry. Just how those issues evolve – and whether they present as challenges or opportunities – is, of course, unknown. Answers to some future questions will be relatively straightforward, confidently based on industry knowledge and experience. Other outcomes remain hazier, and next steps could be influenced by forces and players completely removed from the business of barges…

The largest shipwreck removal project in American history is drawing to a close.On Monday, salvage personnel removed the final section of the overturned car carrier Golden Ray, which capsized in the St. Simons Sound near Georgia's Port of Brunswick in September 2019.The ensuing salvage project—considered to be the largest and most complex in U.S. waters—required more than 3 million collective manhours as crews cut the 656-foot ship into eight sections for lifting and barge transport to a local facility for partial dismantling.

If you and your crew are facing questions about ballast water management (BWM) and related regulatory deadlines, it would be worth your while to download a new (January 2021) “Ballast Water Management Systems User Guide,” an extensive, in-depth look at evaluating, selecting and installing a BWM system. The guide was published by MARAD and Glosten for the Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP). It is geared primarily toward U.S.-flag operators in domestic and international trade.As most mariners know, BWM, overseen federally by U.S. EPA and the Coast Guard, includes a number of activities.

Contship Italia Group has been pulling all the stops to increase its intermodal offering during the past months.Italy’s leading service provider for integrated global supply chains said that its Rail Hub Milano (RHM) and its gateway ports La Spezia and Ravenna serve as backbone of the Group’s growing intermodal network.La Spezia is geographically located within a range of 320 km from the key economic regions in Italy, accounting for over 47% of the total Italian GDP. RHM is located in Melzo, just outside the city of Milan at the heart of consumer and industrial regions. Ravenna is the natural gateway for East Med flows exchanged via the Adriatic Sea, the Italian container terminal operator said.This year has seen numerous service additions from RHM to various locations across Europe.

As the Central Ohio River Business Association (CORBA) pushes commerce on the Ohio River, stakeholders are beginning to take notice. On January 19, in an office tower overlooking the Ohio River, Eric Thomas convened the first meeting of 2017 for a business group working in the 13th largest port in the U.S.: the Ports of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky (PCNK). Thomas serves as the Executive Director of CORBA – the Central Ohio River Business Association. PCNK’s high rank is likely a surprise to many.

Where commercial marine and safety considerations allide with recreational and other peripheral agendas, the discussion can sometimes be contentious. One such example of this reality is now playing out on the Hudson River in New York. On June 9, 2016, the U.S. Coast Guard published a three-page Federal Register notice, seeking public comments on a proposal suggesting new anchorage grounds in the Hudson River, from Yonkers to Kingston, N.Y. Officially, this was an advance notice of proposed rulemaking…

But now that the LNG Master Plan has come to an end the LNG story is not finished. Far from it: this was just the start, paving the way for promising new projects. Specifically, the port of Antwerp is getting ready to build an LNG bunker station for barges, with the concession agreement due to be signed at the beginning of 2016. The Rhine-Main-Danube LNG Master Plan was formally brought to a close on 16 December 2015 in Rotterdam. Together with 32 other partners from all over Europe the port of Antwerp had contributed towards the objective of making LNG a reality for barge transport, as a clean fuel. This objective fell into two parts: on the one hand to encourage barge operators to use LNG as their fuel…

The port of Antwerp is set to achieve a freight volume of more than 200 million tonnes for the first time ever in 2015. When it comes to containers Antwerp is performing extremely well this year: with expected growth of almost 8% it will easily pass the milestone of 9 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units, i.e. standard containers) for the first time in its history. About half of the container volume is currently handled in the port area on the Right bank of the Scheldt, but once the Swiss shipping company MSC transfers its operations to the Deurganck dock then the Left bank will inevitably become the main focus of container handling in Antwerp.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. today announced the signing of a Joint Venture Agreement with SahaThai Terminal Co.,Ltd., a container terminal operation company in Thailand, to establish a new barge terminal operation company in Bangkok. The new company, called Bangkok Barge Terminal Co., Ltd. (BBT), will have its head office in Bangkok. Due to shallower water depth at the Bangkok river port, Laem Chabang port which locates about 90km downstream has become the main gateway port of Thailand with its capability in accommodating many liner services with larger containerships. Consequently, container transport between Laem Chabang and the outskirts of Bangkok by land transport via truck and rail, as well as waterway transport via barges now play important roles.

Rail transport activists, analysts and environmentalists get a real taste of what the waterfront has endured for decades. They’ll just have to get in line with the rest of us. This week finds the collective domestic oil industry wringing its hands about the latest in a series of serious oil transport train casualties. This time, on Monday, the news involved a crude-carrying train that derailed in West Virginia, complete with more than one dozen tank cars afire and necessitating the evacuation of nearby towns. Just before that, another train in Canada consisting of about 100 tank cars carrying crude oil derailed in remote Ontario and suffered a similar fate. Both events naturally caught the attention of environmental and safety activists and oil industry analysts.

Exhaustive studies by The National Waterways Foundation (NWF), a center for research and learning where industry leaders address public policy issues related to America’s inland waterways system, conclude that inland waterways transport generates fewer emissions of particulate matter, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide than rail or truck on a per ton mile moved basis. But, it’s one thing to claim that metric, and another altogether to prove it to shippers and other freight stakeholders. The time to do that, says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is now. Since 2011, the EPA has fostered an initiative to protect…

Fleet Optimization is a broad term which might be described as the best practices and equipment that will make any collection of vessels more environmentally correct, economical and yes, attractive to prospective charterers. In this edition, it means whatever I say it means. Separately, and as the closely watched rig count in the U.S. Gulf in the U.S. Gulf continues to drop – dipping below 80 percent utilization as we went to press – so, too, go the rates for offshore supply vessels. As such, and if you operate a workboat in this climate, you can probably be forgiven if SATCOM, Software and water treatment technology (of all things) aren’t necessarily the number one thing on your plate when you sit down at your desk each morning.

Antwerp is the leading barge port in Europe. Now with its Instream campaign it is showcasing its barge facilities. Each week more than 915 barges call at the port of Antwerp carrying project cargo, containers and dry and liquid bulk to and from northern France, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Keeping this barge traffic flowing smoothly requires efficient collaboration between all partners in the chain. Over the past few years this collaboration has led to the development of various digital tools that all share the same goal, namely to make the port of Antwerp more accessible for barges. The Instream campaign draws all these initiatives together, making it clear at a glance how Antwerp stands out from other ports.

Each week more than 915 barges call at the port of Antwerp carrying project cargo, containers and dry and liquid bulk to and from northern France, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Keeping this barge traffic flowing smoothly requires efficient collaboration between all partners in the chain. Over the past few years this collaboration has led to the development of various digital tools that all share the same goal, namely to make the port of Antwerp more accessible for barges. The Instream campaign draws all these initiatives together, making it clear at a glance how Antwerp stands out from other ports. The port of Antwerp aims to increase the share of barge transport in the modal mix from the present 36% to 42% by 2030.

The recent enactment of the Waterways Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA) has brought a sense of optimism to inland waterways mariners, operators and industries across the nation. Our inland waterways are poised for success, and key to that success is the anticipated support provided in that bill. Of course, follow on appropriations and carefully planned implementation is critical to assure continued success of our waterways system. One segment of that system, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) is growing in importance and value to the nation.

Ingram Barge Company announced its participation in the new Barge Freight component of the SmartWay Transport Partnership, a public-private partnership between the U.S. Government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the country’s leading private industry freight carriers and freight users aimed at reducing carbon, oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter emissions. Ingram has been involved with the EPA in helping to develop, test and pilot the tool since 2010 and Ingram hopes that others will follow its lead in committing to improve efficiency and reduce pollution. SmartWay, currently composed of more than 3,000 truck and rail carriers and the shippers that hire them, is adding a new Barge Freight component this year.

The Columbia/Snake River System defines shortsea shipping, and promises much, much more. Lewiston, Idaho, is perhaps best known to tourists as the turnaround for a Columbia River cruise or the jumping-off point for a trip to Hell’s Canyon, North America’s deepest gorge. For anyone transporting cargo, however, it’s known as the port farthest inland of any on the West Coast – a whopping 465 miles inland from the mouth of the Columbia River. Located close to the border between Washington and Oregon…

The Damen Stan Tug 1205 ‘SWS Essex’ was delivered to the Walsh & Sons Head Office in Brentwood (UK) last week. Walsh ordered the Stan Tug as part of their strategy to transport more cargo by water than by road. In the near future, the total transport capacity of Walsh’s lorry fleet will be exceeded by tug and barge transport. Walsh is a recycling and construction company, specialized in civil engineering, demolition, disposal of materials, environmental projects and Thames River dredging projects.

Damen Stan Tug 1205 SWS Essex was delivered to the Walsh & Sons Head Office in Brentwood (UK) who ordered the Stan Tug as part of their strategy to transport more cargo by water than by road. In the near future, the total transport capacity of Walsh’s lorry fleet will be exceeded by tug and barge transport. Walsh is a recycling and construction company specialized in civil engineering, demolition, disposal of materials, environmental projects and Thames River dredging projects.

The barging industry has the answer. It’s nowhere near as complicated as it seems. As shale gas production continues to ramp up across the United States, millions of gallons of wastewater is created through the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. That waste, referred to as shale gas extraction wastewater (SGEWW), or frack water, needs transport to storage and reprocessing facilities around the U.S., including disposal sites in Louisiana, Texas and Ohio. At the moment, the cargo is carried solely by rail and truck.