The inland waterway system, flowing through the United States heartland, is a microcosm of all that has been happening in 2020: trade tensions, infrastructure issues, shifting trends in fuel consumption and the pandemic that has gripped us since the winter months. Shortly after the initial coronavirus outbreak here in the U.S.
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.
Nearly 200 towing vessels and 600 barges are queued on the Intracoastal Waterway while salvors work to clear a halved and partially sunken rock barge near Berwick, La., the U.S. Coast Guard said.A section of waterway has been closed since Sunday night, when a towing vessel pushing six rock-filled hopper barges ran aground at mile marker 99.
American Commercial Lines Inc. (ACL) said on Friday it expects to complete its recapitalization and emerge from Chapter 11 in the coming weeks after the U.S. Bankrptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division confirmed the company's pre-packaged plan. ACL announced it would implement the recapitalization plan in February.
American Cruise Lines announced that it will launch two additional modern riverboats for the 2021 season. Construction is already underway on the new riverboats and will ramp up as American Jazz, the Line’s third modern riverboat, is readied for its 2020 debut in New Orleans.The two riverboats coming next year will be sister ships to the American Harmony and American Jazz
Five Damen vessels have made their way across the Atlantic Ocean on a unique voyage to Canada. Early this year, Damen Shipyards Group signed a contract with Ontario-based Doornekamp Construction for the delivery of a Shoalbuster 3209. The vessel was formerly part of Damen Marine Services’ charter fleet. What seemed an ordinary ship sale contract was, in fact, just the beginning.
A new insurance services business has been launched to protect maritime companies from cyber threats. Offering risk management, underwriting and analytics, Astaara Company Limited said it aims to modernize this area of the insurance industry."The insurance business is behind the times when it comes to cyber threats to maritime companies.