Arcosa Marine Launches First Barge from Reopened LA Yard

September 3, 2019

The newest delivery from Arcosa Marine. Note the Nabrico FASST winch in the background. (Image: Arcos Marine)

After reopening its idle barge manufacturing operations earlier this year, Arcosa Marine’s Madisonville, LA, facility launched its first barge on July 25 to a welcoming crowd from the banks of the Tchefuncte River.

The tank barge, E2MS 314, constructed for the family owned and operated E Squared Marine Service, LLC (E Squared), was christened by Kevin Morley of Frost Bank, after which Arcosa Inc. president, Thomas Faherty, addressed the crowd.

“We are honored by E Squared’s continued trust in Arcosa Marine to deliver the highest quality inland barges to their fleet,” said Faherty. “As we celebrate this momentous launch, on behalf of Arcosa Marine I want to personally thank the employees that returned to the Madisonville shipyard along with the new hires to pick up the torch and keep the tradition of over 80 years of ship building at this facility going strong. About half of the current workforce returned from working at the yard previously. I also want to thank the St. Tammany community for its involvement in making this day possible.”

Arcosa Inc. made a capital investment to reopen the facility due to encouraging conditions in the barge construction industry for multiple barge types including tank, hopper, and deck barges. The investment allowed for Arcosa to pursue highly skilled workers to fill high-quality jobs in the region. Arcosa Marine has booked construction in Madisonville into 2020.

Arcosa Marine has constructed several barges for E Squared since its founding in 2012. The E2MS 314is the first of two additional tank barges Arcosa Marine will deliver to the Houston, TX based company. Both 297-foot liquid product barges are set to be delivered to the fleet in August and will operate on inland rivers, bays, and intercostal waterway routes. The christening ceremony was attended by E-Squared’s president, Travis Elam, along with the company’s executive vice president, Andrew Talley, and its vice president of operations, Captain Tyler Tamburin.

New Orleans based Harbor Towing & Fleeting picked up the barge on August 23 to move it to the Mississippi River where it will begin moving product.

Arcosa Marine is a leading manufacturer of barges for inland waterways. Arcosa Marine operates within the Transportation Products Group, one of three principal business segments for Arcosa Inc., which also includes the Construction Products Group and the Energy Equipment Group.