Pushboats News

The Rhenus Group announced it has upgraded two canal push boats operated by Deutsche Binnenreederei (DBR) with new stage V engines.While the new construction of more sustainable hydrogen-powered vessels is a long-term project, the Rhenus Group is retrofitting its older vessels with modern and therefore more environmentally-friendly technology in the short term. The two canal push boats, RSPSB146 and RSPSB153, which were built in 1978 and 1979 respectively, are the first to undergo this process.It has taken about ten months to convert the two vessels.

Battery maker AYK Energy and Western Baltic Engineering strike partnership to electrify inland waterway transport.Lithuanian ship designer Western Baltic Engineering (WBE) is accelerating the development of its recently unveiled electric ‘pusher’ vessel with the signing of a new partnership with battery maker AYK Energy, an agreement that will see the companies collaborate on building the first electric pusher vessel, named the Electric Eel for the Lithuanian Inland Waterways…

Thordon Bearings Reports it has secured a contract to supply a range of water-lubricated and grease-free bearings for installation to several fleet boats under construction at the FMT Shipyard & Repair facility, for workboat owner Maritime Partners.Twelve twin-screw push boats are scheduled to be delivered from the Louisiana shipyard with equipment that includes RiverTough tailshaft bearings, ThorPlas-Blue rudder bearings with Pucker Seals, ThorPlas-Blue steering linkage bushings…

South American logistics operator Hidrovias do Brasil S.A. has ordered a fleet of diesel/battery electric pushboats from Belov Engenharia Shipyard, in Salvador, Brazil. Construction has commenced, and the first vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2022.Designed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, B.C., Canada, the innovative vessels are expected to be the world’s first battery electric shallow draft pushboats when they begin operating to provide terminal assistance in the Amazon River system.The new vessels are of the RApide 2000-E design…

Excessive vessel speed contributed to a 2019 collision between a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker and a barge in the Houston Ship Channel that resulted in the release of 11,000 barrels of petrochemicals, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday.The 754-foot-long tanker Genesis River collided with the 297-foot-long tank barge 30015T on the Houston Ship Channel May 10, 2019, in Texas’ Upper Galveston Bay. The collision breached two cargo tanks in the barge, spilling approximately 473,600 gallons of reformate, a gasoline blending stock.

Bayou La Batre, Ala. shipbuilder Master Marine, Inc. (MMI) has delivered the 67’ x 28’ pushboat Rock Solid to Plimsoll Marine. The Rock Solid is the third of four vessels that MMI is scheduled to deliver to the Lower Mississippi River push boat operator.“The delivery of the Rock Solid marks another milestone in our effort to build and maintain our industry’s most modern and capable fleet of push boats,” said Angus R. Cooper III, President, Cooper/T. Smith. “Our team prides itself…

Brian Bailey, Director of Safety and Environmental Stewardship for the American Waterways Operators (AWO), was recently named a 2020 Rising Star of Safety by the National Safety Council (NSC), a nonprofit public service organization promoting health and safety in the U.S. Marine News spoke with Bailey about workboat safety and the AWO’s mission to protect industry workers, assets and the environment.Please tell us a bit about yourself and your role at AWO.I’ve been with The American Waterways Operators as its Director of Safety & Environmental Stewardship since 2016…

Inmarsat has equipped four Paraná River push boats operated by Impala Paraguay with Fleet Xpress connectivity, in what the mobile satellite communications company is calling a breakthrough for maritime broadband inland along one of South America’s longest waterways.The prime mover vessels are used by Impala Paraguay to steer its fleet of 30 double-hulled barges along the waterway system to move gas oil, jet fuel, gasoline and naphtha products from Argentina onward to Paraguay and Bolivia, exporting soya bean oil in the other direction.

In today’s environment, the overarching challenge for the American tugboat, towboat and barge industry is to continue transporting the vital commodities that help keep our nation’s economy moving during a highly uncertain time, while taking all necessary measures to ensure the health and safety of our workforce as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve – in other words, to ensure business continuity, while recognizing we are not, nor can we be, going about business as usual.

Mary Ann Bucci has spent her entire career in many different aspects of the logistics profession, selling container space on international vessels for SeaLand Service, leasing railcar equipment for GE Railcar Services, and negotiated rail rate for Aristech Chemicals. Having spent the last 19 years advocating for the inland waterways system, specifically for the Port of Pittsburgh District, Bucci weighs in on some of the top issues and key projects underway at one of the nation’s busiest inland ports.Please describe the Port of Pittsburgh Commission’s role in supporting waterway commerce…

Arthur F. Mead, Vice President and Chief Counsel at Crowley Maritime Corporation, has been elected Chairman of the American Waterways Operators (AWO), succeeding outgoing Chairman Scott Merritt, former Chief Operating Officer with Foss Maritime Company, LLC.Members of the national tugboat, towboat and barge industry association elected a new slate of leaders this week during the association's Spring Board of Directors / Annual Membership Meeting, which was held virtually due to COVID-19 precautionary measures that resulted in the meeting not taking place in Washington…

With developments in the current health crisis almost entirely consuming nearly all news reporting, one could be forgiven for thinking that the members of Congress are thinking about and working on little else, and that even if they were, the divisive partisanship of recent years would doom the prospects of much else getting done. Happily, that is not the case for the nation’s inland waterways. Both houses of Congress are diligently working on maintaining the momentum of passing a Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) every two years…

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., said in a March conference call that petrochemical customers have driven the market higher as plants and refineries look to shore up their supply chains amid current market upheavals…