Barging Ahead

[By Pat Zeitler]

Tugs and barges are the ox and cart of the maritime world. They have one purpose and that’s to move loads.

Throughout a bustling 2024, this basic concept was not lost on the U.S. mariner. While some tugs move ships, like the new electric harbor tug eWolf, others move heavy-lift barges like Donjon’s assets in response to the Francis Scott Bridge collapse in Baltimore. Still others work in tandem with  barges like Crowley’s ATBs (articulated tug barges).

While a global naval superpower, the U.S. is not exactly a commercial maritime superpower. It  has a surprisingly low number of flagged commercial deep-draft vessels. It does, however, possess a strong and robust tug-and-barge industry.

Like the ox and cart in days of old, U.S. tugs and barges are a key supply chain element that is often taken for granted. The good news is there’s a sense of innovation and accomplishment throughout industry. Companies like Carver Marine Towing are working to reduce the deficit of skilled maritime labor while Crowley and Suderman & Young are making concerted efforts to eliminate emissions by committing to electric power. 

We may look back at 2024 and recognize that this was a banner year for the U.S. tug-and-barge industry.

Special Operations: Carver and Donjon

In 2014, Carver Marine Towing was launched by purchasing a tug and barge with the original purpose of delivering raw product to their laydown yard at Coeymans Industrial Park south of Albany, New York on the Hudson River. The logistical void experienced by Carver…