Waterway traffic is coming back. November 2021 saw 52.1 million tons moving on the U.S. inland waterway system, the highest monthly tonnage since October 2019, a few months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shutdowns and stoppages of early 2020. Flows estimated by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), part of the U.S.
Ship design and engineering firm Conoship International Projects said it has developed a new 3,600 dwt general cargo vessel suited for sea-river operations, which it says will provide major fuel savings and environmental advantages. Equipped with a diesel-electric propulsion system, enlarged propeller in combination with a ConoDuctTail and optimized hull lines
At least 64 people have died in a boat accident off the coast of northeastern Madagascar and searches were underway for 24 missing passengers, the maritime agency said on Wednesday.Fifty survivors were found, the Maritime and River Port Agency said.The vessel, a cargo ship that was not authorized to transport people, was overloaded and water flooded the engine, said Mamy Randrianavony
Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) said it has been cleared of any fault related to the 2008 Mel Oliver collision and resulting oil spill on the Mississippi River.The announcement comes after more than 13 years of legal proceedings and is the result of a settlement agreement reached on November 18, 2021, with the U.S.
The $1 trillion infrastructure package headed to President Joe Biden to sign into law will provide a welcome funding injection for America’s inland waterway infrastructure.The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was approved by Congress on November 6 and is expected to be signed by President Biden next week.
A section of the Ohio River was closed to vessel traffic on Tuesday due to towboat fire near Belleview, Ky.The U.S. Coast Guard said it issued a waterway restriction between mile marker 499 and mile marker 501 on the Ohio River after a fire reportedly broke out in the engine room aboard the towing vessel Capt. Kirby Dupuis.
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.
Gustavo Alcides Diaz, an Argentine fisherman and hunter from a river island community, is at home on the water. The Parana River once lapped the banks near his wooden stilt home that he could reach by boat. Fish gave him food and income. He purified river water to drink.Now the 40-year-old looks out on a trickle of muddy water.
The government of Argentina on Monday declared a 180-day “water emergency” for the Parana River, which is suffering a historic bout of shallowness that has affected the amount of grains that can be shipped from the country’s key ports hub of Rosario.The country is a major international food supplier.
In the last week of April, with little fanfare, the U.S. Coast Guard released a much-anticipated opportunity to build up to 27 Waterways Commerce Cutters. After the detailed design and construction contract is awarded in Spring of 2022, a lucky shipbuilder will begin replacing the Coast Guard’s eclectic fleet of 18 venerable river buoy tenders (WLR) and 13 inland construction tenders (WLIC).
The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday lifted its marine traffic restrictions on a section of the lower Mississippi River that has been closed since Tuesday, clearing towboats and barges to resume operations on one of America's busiest and most vital trade arteries.All river traffic came to a halt near Memphis, Tenn.
More than 1,000 barges were backed up on the lower Mississippi River on Friday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, while traders anxiously awaited an update on the shutdown of a portion of the waterway that is critical to U.S. crop exports.The Coast Guard on Tuesday stopped all traffic on the river near Memphis, Tennessee, after a fracture was discovered in the Hernando DeSoto Bridge