Those that live near major rivers and inland waterways enjoy watching various vessels make their way through their towns on the water, but not all know the difference between vessels.
Barges are one of the most common vessels to traverse the USA’s inland waterways, but many don’t know the details and characteristics behind these linchpins of American shipping and transportation.
What is a barge?
A barge is a long, flat-bottomed vessel that is typically used to transport goods to various destinations via inland waterways and port systems. Most barges are pushed along the rivers by a towboat.
Barges rarely leave inland waterway systems and ports. Their roots date back thousands of years and barges played quite the role in the formation of America as many of the country’s cities like Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, New Orleans, and many more heavily relied on barges for the initial construction of their infrastructures.
Barges were responsible for developing the fabric of American culture, and although transport options like trains, and eventually trucks, became popular options, barges still offer some of the best shipping options available today.
When shipping particularly heavy or massive goods, barges will almost always provide the most cost-effective option for shipping. However, there are a handful of different types of barges, each designed to transport specific goods most effectively.
What are the different types of barges? What do barges carry? Continue reading below to learn more.
Types of Barges
Just as different types of goods are transported via different methods on land (think gas tankers, water trucks, oversized loads, etc.) the same idea applies for barges and inland waterway shipping. Below are the different types of barges used for inland waterway shipping.
Dry Bulk Barge
The first type of barge we will analyze is a dry bulk barge, which is used to transport goods such as grain, cement, and more. Dry bulk barges can typically carry up to 2,000 tons of cargo, making it a highly effective transportation method for large quantities of goods. A dry bulk barge will typically have a flat bottom and the sides of the barge will be heavily reinforced with steel plates to ensure a proper and safe transport.
When it comes to the shape of a dry bulk barge, there are two common versions. The first is a rake barge, which has a curved bow to decrease resistance when traversing the waters. The second is a box barge, which is squared off at the ends, making for less efficient water resistance, but often offering more space to accommodate goods.
Liquid Tank Barge
Liquid tank barges are most frequently used to transport goods like petroleum, vegetable oils, diesel fuel, water, chemicals, and more. Liquid tank barges often have multiple storage tanks made from steel or aluminum to ensure additional strength and protection for the cargo is provided.
When it comes to categorization, inland tank barges are typically categorized by the number of barrels of liquid product that it can ship.
Container Barges
You guessed it, container barges are designed to carry shipping containers across inland waterways. The average container barge can hold about 30 shipping containers, which of course makes it a great option for many shippers who may rely on highway transportation via truck.
If planned properly, container barges have the potential to substantially disrupt ground transportation trends that have become ingrained in business over the past decades.
Flat Deck Barges
Flat deck barges are used to transport goods such as the “oversized load” items you may see being transported on highways, they’re often used to transport construction machinery and vehicles.
Because of its flat deck design and reinforced strength, flat deck barges can carry hundreds of tons of machinery like cranes and excavators. They can also be used when constructing bridges to transport large sections of a bridge to the necessary river location.
A flat deck barge can often become an essential shipping option when engaged in large-scale construction projects that involve relocating large pieces of machinery or equipment.
Multi-Use Barges
Multi-use barges offer many different options for shipping, as the name implies. Multi-use barges can accommodate most types of goods mentioned above in creative and efficient ways.
A multi-use barge would most frequently be used for shipping containers, liquid, and machinery or vehicles to a location simultaneously. For example, a multi-use barge may carry large pipes, rocks, and even bulldozers to a construction site.
Hopper Barges
Hopper barges, or split hopper barges, are designed to transport commodities like steel, waste, coal, sand, soil, and more. They are referred to as split hopper barges because they are split along the length of the hull. In terms of configuration, hopper barges can have a boxed, single-raked, or double-raked hull.
They can also either be covered or left uncovered, depending on the amount of goods being shipped. Hopper barges usually travel between dredging locations and land reclamation sites.
Ocean Barges
As one can surmise, ocean barges are used for transport outside of inland waterways. They are used as an alternative to higher speed freights in cases where there may be a shallow draft port that is only accessible to tugs and barges.
Often, extremely heavy items like construction equipment, or high-volume loads such as large diameter pipes, are transported via ocean barge. Because the ocean is more volatile than inland waterway systems, ocean barges are constructed to be quite durable and they are more expensive to build and maintain than a traditional inland barge is.
Spud Barges
Spud barges, otherwise known as jack-up barges, are specialized types of barges normally used for marine construction projects. This type of barge is moored by steel shafts, which involves driving pipes into the soil beneath the barge to provide stability to the working environment on the barge.
The expansive, flat deck on a spud barge allows for a stable work environment on the water’s surface. The space offered by this type of barge also allows for equipment storage during offshore demolition projects, crane work, marine recovery operations, and more.
The Benefits of Barge Shipping
- Cost Savings: Transporting goods via barge allows one to operate at lower costs than trucking or rail methods as barges can carry larger quantities of goods for less. Less fuel is required per ton when shipping via barge, in fact, a single barge requires only a gallon of fuel to move one ton of cargo nearly 650 miles.
- Eco-Friendly: Barges produce significantly less emissions compared to other freight transportation forms. “Barges are a great environmental option,” Army Corps of Engineers project manager Andy Schrimpf told NPR. “I’m talking about the carbon footprint, the carbon output, and the amount of commodities that are moved per gallon of fuel burned.” In fact, a study by Texas A&M University shows barges can move a ton of cargo the aforementioned 647 miles on a single gallon of fuel. That’s nearly 200 miles more than rail transporting and 500 more than trucking.
- Flexibility: As explained above, there are many different types of barges and almost any form of cargo can be accommodated by barge transportation. This offers shippers the option to move multiple different forms of cargo on one barge, or a very large quantity of the same goods all at once.
Bottom Line
In summation, barges are the most efficient way for many businesses to move large quantities of goods at lower costs. They also provide great opportunities for large companies and even small businesses to not only save money, but reduce their ever-important carbon footprint.
Barges offer the most sustainable, affordable, and efficient methods of shipping in today’s market. Some business owners may be intimidated by barge transportation if they’re previously unfamiliar with the option, but there’s no reason to be intimidated.
In fact, it could be argued that barge transportation offers the most reliable way to transport large quantities of goods across the nation.
OpenTug creates the opportunity for shippers to understand inland waterway transport via barge. The OpenTug Marketplace provides shippers with comprehensive shipping solutions, offering a a digital web app to request service from hundreds of tug and barge operators, and track freight in real-time from departure to delivery.
Visit the OpenTug Explore page to receive custom quotes for your movement today.
.png)
