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John Roberts News

18 Mar 2024

Port NOLA Bests Container-on-barge Record

(Photo: Port NOLA)

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) said 2023 was a record year for container-on-barge shipping.During the last calendar year, Port NOLA marked 20,500 container moves by barge, the highest since launching the container-on-barge network—the nation's largest—in 2016 with the Port of Greater Baton Rouge and Ingram Marine Group. Container-on-barge moves containers by water rather than by truck on roads to reduce air emissions; moving an average of 30,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) per year between New Orleans, the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Memphis and St. Louis.

04 Feb 2024

Ingram Forms Material Handling and Supply Chain Subsidiary

© steheap / Adobe Stock

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.

25 Oct 2023

SEACOR Sells Its Inland River Business to Ingram

© Danita Delimont / Adobe Stock

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


23 Feb 2023

Supreme Court Sides With Offshore Worker in Overtime Case

© W.Scott McGill / Adobe Stock

An oil rig supervisor who earned more than $200,000 a year working for Houston-based Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc is entitled to overtime pay, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a decision with costly implications for the oil and gas industry.The court in a 6-3 decision authored by liberal Justice Elena Kagan decided that because the rig supervisor, Michael Hewitt, was paid a daily rate of $963 and not a salary, an overtime pay exemption in federal wage law for highly paid workers did not apply to him.The justices affirmed a 2021 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S.

17 Feb 2023

Ingram Christens New Towboat Steve Alley

Steve Alley in New Orlean (Photo: Ingram Marine Group)

Ingram Marine Group this week held a christening ceremony in New Orleans for Steve Alley, the fifth new towboat in the series of 10 ordered by the Nashville-based operator.The four-decked, welded-steel, USCG Subchapter M-compliant towboat was designed by Ingram Marine Group, Louisiana shipbuilder Main Iron Works, and naval architect Ashraf Degedy, PE.The 78-foot-long, 32-foot-wide newbuild is outfitted with twin Caterpillar Marine tier 3 diesel engines and Reintjes gearboxes, John Deere generators, and 76-inch Michigan special propellers.

11 Nov 2022

US Inland Waterways: Looking for Rainmakers

(Photo: Ingram Barge Company)

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


06 Oct 2022

Ingram Barge Declares Force Majeure Due to Low Mississippi River

© Michael / Adobe Stock

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)

01 Jul 2022

Shipbuilding: Ingram Marine Christens Four Towboats in One Day

Image courtesy  Ingram Marine Group

On June 24, Ingram Marine Group held a special christening ceremony for four vessels: M/V Capt. Roy Daniels, M/V Randy Hooper, M/V Debbie L. Owen and M/V Harold B. Warren. The M/V Debbie L. Owen and M/V Capt. Roy Daniels are new builds. The M/V Randy Hooper and M/V Harold B. Warren are refurbished vessels.“The people we are honoring today are a testament to the kind of company we’ve worked hard to build. They really represent the ‘Ingram Way’ which is why it is so fitting to christen some of our vessels in their honor


11 May 2022

Coast Guard Foundation 'Tribute' Event Planned for June 7 in Washington, DC

Jim O’Hare, Guardian Award recipient.  With Margaret Winters, CGF board member and Jim’s wife, Terry O’Hare. Photo courtesy Coast Guard Foundation

The Coast Guard Foundation announced that its annual Tribute to the U.S. Coast Guard in Washington, D.C., will take place on June 7,2022, at the historic National Building Museum in Washington.The event celebrates the Coast Guard and raises funds for Coast Guard Foundation programs that support service members and their families when and where they are most in need.“We look forward to coming together with policymakers, industry leaders and government officials to highlight the heroism of the U.S.

10 Jan 2022

Ingram CEO O’Loughlin to Retire; Roberts to Take the Helm

John Roberts (Photo: Ingram Marine group)

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.

10 Nov 2020

Ingram Barge to Acquire Cheryl K and San Jacinto River Fleet

(Photo: Ingram Barge Company)

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.

05 Jun 2017

Coast Guard to Be Honored in DC

John F. Kelly (Photo: US Dept. of Homeland Security)

The Coast Guard Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced that its 13th Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard in Our Nation’s Capital will take place on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly and Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, Commandant of the Coast Guard will deliver keynote remarks. Dinner chairs are Coast Guard Foundation board members Admiral Thad Allen, USCG (Retired) and Corrine Kosar. Secretary John F.

28 May 2015

Coast Guard Foundation Hosts Annual Tribute

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its 11th Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard in Our Nation’s Capital will take place on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 at the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. The Honorable James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence and Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, Commandant of the Coast Guard will deliver keynote remarks. CNN’s Kyra Phillips, and Fox News’ John Roberts will emcee the event. The event is chaired by Coast Guard Foundation board members Admiral Thad Allen, USCG (Ret.) and Corrine Kosar. The seven living past commandants of the United States Coast Guard are honorary co-chairs of the event.

30 Jan 2015

Kongsberg Expands Louisiana Office, Training Facility

Image: Kongsberg Maritime

Kongsberg Maritime has purchased approximately 5.2 acres for new construction on an 82,980 sq ft office and training facility. Construction on the James Business Park property located on James Drive East in St. Rose, Louisiana is scheduled to begin this spring. Kongsberg Maritime moved its service department from Houston to Louisiana in 2003 establishing a small office in James Business Park with nine full-time employees. Growing together with local customers, the Louisiana office now has 110 employees occupying 35,000 sq ft of leased office space.

29 Apr 2014

US Top Court Upholds Cross-State Air Pollution Rule

The U.S. Supreme Court handed President Barack Obama a victory on Tuesday by upholding a federal environmental regulation requiring some states to limit pollution that contributes to unhealthy air in neighboring states. By a 6-2 vote, the court said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acted reasonably in requiring 28 states to reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which can lead to soot and smog. Writing for the majority, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called the EPA rule a cost-effective way to allocate responsibility for emission reductions among upwind states, and that the EPA need not consider each state's proportionate responsibility for the emissions in question.

24 Feb 2014

Justices Question Obama Climate Change Regulations

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared closely divided on Monday as it weighed whether the administration of President Barack Obama exceeded its authority when crafting the nation's first greenhouse gas emissions regulations. Justice Anthony Kennedy could hold the swing vote on the nine-member high court, with conservative justices skeptical of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) approach and liberal justices generally supportive. It is possible the court could opt for a compromise in which the EPA loses the case but retains most of its authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the specific program at issue in the case. Such a move could potentially win the support of some liberal justices.

02 Feb 2007

Coast Guard Closes Mississippi River After Barge Strikes Bridge

The Coast Guard closed a portion of the Mississippi River after a barge struck a rail road bridge Thursday near Vicksburg, Miss. The barge caught fire after it struck the Vicksburg Rail Road Bridge near the Interstate 20 bridge and drifted about 10 miles down river and became grounded in Diamond Cutoff, one mile south of Oak Bend at mile marker 424.3. The fire aboard the barge was contained by the crewmembers aboard the motor vessel John Roberts and personnel from U.S. Environmental Services. The Coast Guard has established a safety zone along the Mississippi River between mile markers 440, near Kings Point, Miss., and mile marker 409.5, near Middle Ground Island, Miss.

05 Nov 1999

Seafarers In Trouble Owe Debt Of Gratitude To Tiny Plastic Boats

When the cold September sea reached out her icy fingers to claim fisherman John Roberts, a plastic boat in a cozy British pub came to his rescue. Just as Roberts began to think he would succumb to the Atlantic's numbing clutches, his spirits were buoyed by the sound of flares going off above the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station in his home port of Sennen Cove. "When I heard those two bangs and knew what they were, then I knew somebody was coming for me," said the 53-year-old veteran of England's treacherous southwestern coastal waters. Roberts insists he owes a debt of gratitude to the RNLI and the Royal Navy helicopter that plucked him from the sea.