Pine Bluff News

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is snapping back from the doldrums of COVID-19, wrapping up a strong first half of 2023 with a slew of awarded dredging work.“The federal government is no different from state and local governments, nor the private sector when it comes to COVID-19 work related recovery and USACE is not an exception,” said William P. Doyle, CEO of the Dredging Contractors of America. “The Army Corps has been steadily issuing contract awards since February, and that’s on the award side.

Hines Furlong Line currently has a trio of identical 6,000-horsepower towboats on order at C&C Marine and Repair in Belle Chasse, La.The timing is right to order the high-power newbuilds, said Kent Furlong, president and founder of Hines Furlong Line (HFL), citing the long-term implications of Subchapter M and the industry’s aging higher horsepower line haul fleet as key drivers behind the decision. “Many of the high-horsepower vessels in the HFL fleet are among the oldest,” he said.

Ingram Industries Inc. of Nashville, Tennessee, and Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel Co. of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, announced today they have entered into an agreement for Ingram to sell its Ingram Materials LLC subsidiary to Pine Bluff. Ingram Materials is one of the nation’s premier producers of fine aggregate used by the construction industry for concrete, asphalt and masonry projects in Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky and Northern Alabama. Ingram Materials operates three sand dredges on the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky, and has distribution facilities in Nashville, Clarksville and New Johnsonville, Tennessee; Paducah, Kentucky; and Decatur and Florence, Alabama. The Ingram Materials business was first established in 1927 by other owners who called it the Ohio River Sand Company.

J. Ron Brinson, former port director and now special projects coordinator of the Port of New Orleans, was elected chairman of the National Waterways Conference, Inc., at the organization?s annual meeting. Brinson succeeds Craig E. Philip of Nashville, president and chief executive officer of Ingram Barge Co., who had served as chairman for the last two years. Brinson, who served as president and chief executive officer of the Port of New Orleans from 1986, now heads the millennium port and other special projects. He previously served seven years as president of the American Association of Port Authorities. He also worked for the South Carolina State Ports Authority and as a reporter and later associate editor of The Charleston News and Courier.

Exhibiting the cumulative strength of its vast organization, two Bollinger shipyards teamed on an innovative project to increase the dredging depth of the Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel Co. dustpan dredge, Wallace McGeorge, from 62-ft. to 75-ft., enabling it to dredge at higher river stages and dispatch sooner on a falling river. To complete the task, Bollinger Quick Repair, Harvey, La., fabricated and installed 45-ton, 36- by 20-ft., port and starboard sections to the horn of the dredge, increasing the vessel's overall length from 252.5 to 288.5 ft. The shipyard then installed a new 46-ton, 40-ft. wide by 15- by 30-ft. high, A-frame which it had pre-fabricated for the dredge.

A rainsquall that reduced visibility appears to have been the cause of a barge hitting a piling of the Mississippi River bridge at Natchez this past weekend, the Biloxi Sun Herald reported. The investigation is ongoing. As for previous reports that a power failure caused the accident, there's no evidence the barge lost power before the accident. The accident happened at about 8 p.m. on January 28 and involved a barge from Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel of Pine Bluff, Ark. There were no injuries. In addition, MDOT crews inspected the piling above the water level Sunday and found no damage. (Source: Biloxi Sun Herald)

Two Bollinger shipyards have teamed to increase the dredging depth of the Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel Co. dustpan dredge, Wallace Mcgeorge, from 62-ft. to 75-ft., enabling it to dredge at higher river stages and dispatch sooner on a falling river. In the process, Bollinger Quick Repair, Harvey, La., fabricated and installed 45-ton, 36-ft. by 20-ft., port and starboard sections to the horn of the dredge, increasing the vessel’s overall length from 252.5 feet to 288.5 ft. The shipyard then installed a new 46-ton, 40-ft. wide by 15-ft. by 30-ft. high, A-frame which it had pre-fabricated for the dredge. The A-frame, which more closely resembles an inverted “U”…