Page 53: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2019)

WORKBOATS: INSIDE THE U.S. WORKBOAT MARKET

The U.S. towing and tug business is 5,500 boats, more than 31,000 barges with an estimated total impact on U.S. GDP of $33.8 billion (using 2014 data).

in the Northeast, recently completed its 8,400 hp Bert Reinauer at its owned yard, Senesco, paired with a 160,000 bbl barge. Bouchard Transportation,

SOLUTIONS another stalwart along the East and

Gulf Coasts, has also added ATBs to

TO OPTMIMZE its ? eet. In March, 2019, the New York area based company linked together its 4,000 hp Evening Breeze/B. No. 252

RELIABILITY (55,000 bbl) from the VT Halter yard (tug) and Bollinger (barge). The 50,000 bbl size is an important niche for move- ments along the East Coast. Vane has ? tted two tugs (Jacksonville – already working around New York, and the soon to be delivered Charleston, built at St. Johns) with coupling systems to handle barges in this size class.

Project management, consultancy, engineering,

The ? gurative 800-pound gorilla in the room is Kirby Corporation (NYSE:

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KEX), which is also active in this sec-

DAYAOGwGYlŽINGGl?ÐO?AEG?E??EŽÐUsYOAYE tor on all coasts, with a deep sea ? eet of

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50 boats and 53 barges (with more than

Ballast Water Management Systems and 1/3 in the 80 kbbl- 90 kbbl sizes) at end ?Ð??ddG???Gl?ŽIl??

2018. Crowley Maritime, also a major >E'AYEŽi?SŽ?GÐŽY|G??sŽY??

ATB owner, is also a big participant in

TESTING & ANALYSIS sYIŽ?AudsŽYwA?sYG?ÐŽw the coastwise. Its 18 ATB ? eet includes

ALIGNMENT +1 778 994-9993 a trio with barge capacity of 330,000 barrels. ????AudsŽYwA?sYG?ÐŽw

MACHINERY SERVICES

On inland river system Kirby is the

PRODUCT SOLUTIONS leader in the liquid segment (with ap- proximately 26% of total inland capac- ity), Q4 2018 results indicated a ? rming marketplace. With a ? eet of more than 1000 tank barges barges (total capac- ity on the order of 23 million barrels) and more than 300 inland towboats pro- jected at the end of 2019, ? eet growth has been fueled by consolidation (rath- er than through newbuilds). Early in 2018, Kirby acquired Higman Marine

Inc. with 159 inland tank barges and 75 boats. Also, 27 additional barges joined the KEX ? eet in late 2018 in a deal with CGBM, and in January 2019 announced a $244 million acquisition of Cenac Marine Services and its 63 “AME did a great job on the laser alignment check and I’m barges (30,000 bbl) and 36 boats. happy to report the vessel sailed on time and with good

Other carriers in this segment include reports once underway. “ Port Engineer, Commercial Towing privately owned Canal Barge Company & Transportation Company (also active in dry), Magnolia Marine,

Florida Marine Transporters (also ac- tive in dry) and Southern Towing. The dry sector, where privately held In- gram Barge, based in Nashville, has the largest ? eet, has seen restraint on new ordering in recent years. Other large players include American Commer- cial Barge Line, and American River

Advanced Mechanical Enterprises, Inc.

Transportation (linked to agribusiness www.marinelink.com 53

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