Tank Barge Transport

Barge types we arrange

Choosing a barge comes down to route, product temperature and dock limits. Inland barges are built for sheltered water and cannot work the open sea. Ocean barges and ATBs run the coast from the Gulf to the Atlantic seaboard. Coastwise units must meet the same Jones Act tests as tankers, and they are a common alternative to a Jones Act product tanker.

How a tow moves

Inland, a towboat makes up a tow from barges that may belong to several shippers and drops them at docks along the way. Tow size is set by the river: open stretches of the Lower Mississippi take large tows, while lock chambers on the upper rivers limit how many barges pass at once. Weather and water level add time, so we plan barge transits as windows rather than exact hours.

• High water: stronger current, plus tow-size and daylight limits on some reaches
• Low water: draft restrictions mean lighter loading per barge
• Fog: channel closures in ports such as the Houston Ship Channel
• Locks: queues and scheduled closures on lock-and-dam rivers
• Fleeting: barges held at a fleet area while a tow is built or broken

Inspection, hull and transfer rules

Tank barges carrying oil or hazardous liquids in bulk are inspected by the US Coast Guard and carry a Certificate of Inspection that lists the cargoes they may carry. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 phased single-hull tank vessels out of US oil trades by 2015, so oil barges today are double-hulled. Towing vessels now fall under their own inspection regime in 46 CFR Subchapter M.

Every oil transfer between a barge and a dock starts with a Declaration of Inspection signed by the person in charge on each side, under 33 CFR 156.150. It confirms that hoses, connections, communications, scupper plugs and emergency shutdown have been checked. Where the dock collects vapors, the barge must be fitted and certified to connect to the vapor control system.

Bunker barges and port delivery

In port, bunker barges deliver marine fuel to ships at anchor or alongside. The supplier issues a bunker delivery note, required under MARPOL Annex VI, and a sealed sample is retained for the ship. Fuel is specified to ISO 8217:2024 or the edition named in the supply contract, and sulfur is capped at 0.50% outside emission control areas and 0.10% inside them.

Jones Act on the water

Moving cargo by barge between two US points is coastwise trade under the Jones Act, on a river as much as at sea. The barge must be US-built, US-flagged, US-owned and crewed by US citizens, and the towing vessel moving it must also be coastwise-qualified. Barge freight therefore follows the domestic market rather than international rates, and the supply of qualified units changes slowly because new barges must come from US shipyards.