The combination of the coronavirus pandemic and oil price freefall have affected most maritime markets, including inland waterway shipping. Looking at U.S. river transport in particular, the impacts of these two black swan events vary greatly depending on the type of cargo being carried.David Grzebinski, CEO of the America’s largest tank barge operator, Kirby Corp.
In late Spring at about 0300 local time, an aging towboat (#1) was pushing two loaded barges upbound on a swollen and fast-moving northwestern U.S. river. It was a moonless night and, while certainly not unusual conditions for the veteran captain and his longtime deckhand, it didn’t diminish the added challenges of the short but tricky nocturnal run.
A 334-meter containership ran aground near mile marker 81 of the Mississippi River, Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Coast Guard watchstanders in New Orleans received a call at 3:20 a.m. that the Liberian-flagged Belita had run aground near 12-mile point, at mile marker 81 of the Mississippi River.
The world has radically changed since towboat captain Terry Hall boarded his vessel late last month in Wood River, Illinois, for his four-week shift hauling bargeloads of crude oil, chemicals, scrap metal and other goods up and down the Mississippi River.His employer, Canal Barge Co
Several major cruise operators have voluntarily suspended operations in response to the developing coronavirus pandemic. For most, the reason given has been "an abundance of caution".On Wednesday, Viking became the first major cruise line to temporarily suspend operations, canceling all river and ocean cruises scheduled to embark between March 12 to April 30.
Inland Dredging Company helps keep commerce flowing on America’s inland waterway system.Dyersburg, Tenn. based Inland Dredging Company completed dredging projects spanning eight states and across four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Districts. Beginning in July and finishing in December (2019), Inland Dredging crews dredged ports and harbors along the Mighty Mississippi River, Ouachita River
The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has placed the shipping industry on high alert amid a rising death toll in China and reports that the fast-spreading illness is reaching new shores.The flu-like coronavirus, first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China on December 31, has killed more than two dozen people in China and is believed to have infected more than 900 worldwide
The beneficial use of dredge material sets a record in FY 2019. And, we’re just getting started. Funding will be the key.In mid-November 2018, concerns began to rise about an unseasonably high river stages on the Upper Mississippi River Basin generated by significant precipitation events.
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel capsized on Saturday with four crew members aboard near Pier 39 in Astoria, Ore.Four Coast Guardsmen were aboard the 26-foot Coast Guard Trailerable Aids to Navigation Boat conducting routine operations when the vessel reportedly encountered a series of heavy wakes that came over the bow, which resulted in an unrecoverable starboard list that capsized the vessel
A fire broke out in the engine room of a lake freighter on the Detroit River on Sunday afternoon, the US Coast Guard reported.A contracted firefighting team boarded the 641-foot Canadian bulk carrier Tecumseh and extinguished the fire overnight after all 16 crewmembers were safely disembarked and evaluated by local emergency medical services, the Coast Guard said.
Associated Terminals runs an impressive mid-stream cargo handling operation on the Lower Mississippi River, unloading bulk carriers with high-efficiency cranes loading a carousel of barges. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News/MarineLink.com spent some time with Todd Fuller, President, Associated Terminals to discuss the operation.
Hungarian salvage crews prepared on Monday to raise the wreck of a pleasure boat that capsized on the Danube river in Budapest, killing 26 South Korean tourists and two local crew.The Mermaid sank after a large Swiss-owned cruise liner struck it from behind on May 29 as both vessels passed under a 19th century bridge in the Hungarian capital during heavy rain.