What do barges haul

Tank barges for carrying petroleum or other liquids. Tank barges may be quite specialized with regard to tank design and cargo handling systems. A significant amount of hazardous cargo, including liquefied and pressurized gases, is moved by barge on inland and coastal waterways. Some barges, especially those designed for the carriage of petroleum products, may have double bottom ballast tanks. Tank barges are most frequently used to haul coal, petroleum and petroleum products, agricultural products, iron, steel, and chemicals.

Sectionalized compartments provide structural stability to the barge hull, distribute cargo loads more evenly, help prevent cargo from shifting while in tow, and allow each section to carry different types of cargo. Dry cargo barges with holds and hatch covers like general cargo ships. Barges that combine some of the above features. Despite specialization, all barges share certain features. Cargo distribution within the hull is not constrained by the requirements of propelling machinery or accommodations.

Because tow speeds are quite low, barges have very full lines. Ocean barges may be feet or more in length.

Spoon, ship-shape, or flat rake bows may be fitted, while the stern is normally a flat transom with some cut up in the afterbody. Parallel midbody extends for as much as 80 percent of the length.

Because of the low towing speeds, slamming and other ship motion induced forces are less than in a self propelled ship of the same size. Scantlings are therefore somewhat lighter than for a similarly sized ship. In general, barges for inland and harbor use are not as rugged as those designed for the open sea. The tug and barge systems developed on the rivers of the Mississippi basin and in wide use on the Gulf Intracoastal and Atlantic Intracoastal waterways, use standard square barges lashed tightly together and connected to the tug at the bow.

Considerable attempts have been made to standardize barge size on the river systems to facilitate making up tows. A common size for lower river barges is feet by 35 feet by 11 feet. Barges intended for use together in a regular service are sometimes constructed as units of an integrated tow, that is, there are lead barges with forward rake, a number of square ended barges for the main part of the tow, and shorter after end barges.

There is a special need to clean the barges between transporting different cargoes. Barge cleaning can involve many hazards. The most important hazards are to due flammable materials, and inhalation or skin contact from chemical exposures.

Barge cleaning is the process of removing residual cargo and cleaning the tanks on the barge in order to load a new or different cargo, inspect, or repair. Cleaning may be conducted on a barge while at a pier, in a drydock, while beached, or at anchor. Upgrades and Features May Include: Upgrade existing brakes with self-contained, three-phase AC hydraulic thruster actuated drum brakes to eliminate cable slipping and the difficulty in finding available parts for the existing brakes.

Benefit: A simple size, one electrical starter only, is now required to activate the brake. DC resisters, rectifier, timers and contactors are removed and are no longer required to be maintained. There are less mechanical parts on the new drum brakes then often found in multiple disk style brakes; therefore, reducing maintenance costs. Installation of our barge haul custom programming injunction with new inverter rated motors and variable frequency drives, eliminates cable shocks and slacks normally found when running two speed motors for barge movements.

The barge can also be secured against drifting away from the river cell or dock face by a continuous barge-breasting cable. This is the fastest and safest way to handle and offload a barge. The two winches are mounted to the dock-cell tops with high-strength epoxy grout and several anchors.

Each winch has a rated capacity and a variable rope speed depending on the application, size of the barge, and weight of the material.

Local controls are also mounted at each winch. The push button station inside the E-Crane cab is located for easy, convenient use; and a foot switch provides for hands-free barge hauling while the operator is simultaneously unloading the barges.

Inland barges provide the most economical mode of transportation for many high-density, large volume or oversized cargos. Different barge sizes and configurations assist in project execution and the transportation of specific materials.

Barges are an integral part of the development of the many industries and communities that depend on the waterways. These barges are designed to carry cargo on deck and differ in size and structural design, depending on their intended use. Deck cargos include pipe, piling, fabricated structures, equipment, rock, palletized material or even horses, cattle, and rocket boosters.

In some instances, certain liquid cargos may be carried in the interior watertight compartments. Deck barges are also used as work platforms for workers and machinery, thereby serving as an extension of land.

Some of these barges may have raised rake decks. Please contact us for more information on the capacity, load marks, and dead weight of specific barges. Spud barges can be specially built to support a working crane. This type of barge typically has a boxed stern that provides maximum flotation while operating a crane. Extra strengthening is generally provided under the crane working area by use of additional bulkheads, internal trusses, or deck frames.

Wooden crane mats should always be used to further distribute the concentrated load and provide traction for the crane. Drop spud barges can also be used for transportation of general cargo or as work platforms.