The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued an investigation report on a barge breakaway incident in the Ohio River which caused an estimated $12.5 million damage and an unknown release of coal and cement into the water.
Two unmanned barges broke loose Wednesday night from their mooring site in the Port of Muskogee, staying adrift for several hours on the swollen Arkansas River, Oklahoma, before they crashed into a dam, Thursday. The barges were carrying about 3,800 pounds of phosphate fertilizer between them.
The Unified Command, including the US Coast Guard, Texas General Land Office, Port of Houston Fire Department and Kirby Inland Marine, have successfully removed two barges involved in a collision from the Houston Ship Channel, on May 15. The Captain of the Port of Houston-Galveston has opened the Houston Ship Channel without restrictions and vessel traffic has returned to normal operations.
The Houston Ship Channel could remain under one-way travel restrictions for all this week after a collision took place between a deep-draft ship and a barge. Because of the collision, petrochemicals were spilled into the waterway. The damaged barges are located in a heavily trafficked area of the channel, affecting everyone.
A tanker collided with a tug pushing two barges on May 10, leading to the closure of the Houston Ship Channel. According to the US Coast Guard an unknown amount of product has been spilled from the barges, with sources reporting that the amount is about 9,000 barrels. USCG added that there were no injuries.
Port Insight that started on November 20, is a collaboration between Port of Rotterdam Authority and TWTG, that focuses in the development of I-IoT solutions. Port Insight is developing the new service with which barges can be tracked across a large part of Europe. The service will be operational for the first clients in early 2019.
Port Augusta in South Australia is expected to restart commercial shipping for first time in half a century as the new owner of the former Northern Power Station has plans to transform the site into a port facility. CU-River Mining, an Australian iron ore magnetite producer, has taken over the Northern Power Station site, as it closed on May 2016, from Flinders Power.
The Port of Charleston, in South Carolina, aspires to place freight that comes in on the water, back on the water with a container-on-barge service, which is expected to be online as early as 2022. The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) submitted applications to state and federal regulators on December to build and dredge for a new wharf at the Wando Welch container terminal.
Overseas Shipholding Group, a provider of energy transportation services for crude oil and petroleum products in the US , exercised an option to build a second 204,000 barrel Oil and Chemical ATB Barge at Gunderson Marine’s Portland, Oregon facility. The barge is planned to be delivered in the second half of 2020, complying with the latest safety and environmental requirements.
The Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers and Tennessee Valley Towing Company, the responsible party, continue to answer for a tug and barge accident that took place to the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky on January 2. The cause of the incident remains unknown and is still under investigation. USCG opened the Ohio River to vessel passing from Twelve Mile Island to McAlpine Lock and Dam. However, traffic is only permitted during daylight hours.
