Paclines To Carry Cargo California To Hawaii Using Tug And Superbarge

A superbarge, capable of carrying as much cargo as a World War II Liberty ship, is the mainstay of a new shipping service between the Port of Oakland, Calif., and Hawaii.

Paclines, operator of the service, employs a barge 336 feet long and 98 feet wide, towed by a 5,000-horsepower twin-screw tug in the run to and from the Islands.

The superbarge has a dry capacity of 324,000 cubic feet, in addition to cargo space on deck, for a total capacity of some 12,500 tons of freight.

The service will call at Oakland every 35 days.

A Paclines spokesman indicated that the service is designed to handle virtually all types of palletized and unitized cargo. A so-called "pass-pass" system is used in loading the floating giant, in which teams of forklifts hand-off cargo at the bullrail to a second team of forklifts aboard the barge, which stow the freight.

Because a ramp is used in loading, the service is also well-suited for shipping heavy machinery, the spokesman said.

In Oakland, the service is based at the port's Ninth Avenue Terminal.

Paclines, which employs some 1,250 people worldwide and utilizes more than 100 barges, operates Pacific Inland Navigation, Alaska Barge & Transport, B&R Tug and Barge, and Seapac.

Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 31, Feb 1974

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Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.