By Karl Plume April 7 (Reuters) - Two separate barge accidents halted navigation on the flood-swollen Mississippi and lower Ohio rivers on Friday, severing the flow of grain from the upper Midwest to export terminals along the Gulf Coast, government officials said. A section of the Mississippi River was closed to navigation on Friday morning after nine grain barges broke … [Read more...]
Coast Guard Responds to Breakaway Barges on Ohio River
The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday responded to a report of a breakaway barges at the Racine Lock and Dam on the Ohio River near Huntington, West Virginia. Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley received a report that UTV Austin C. Settoon, pushing three barges loaded with approximately 3,780,000 gallons of natural gas condensate, allided with the lock wall at approximately 5:30 a.m, … [Read more...]
Barge Glut Chokes U.S. Shipping Sector Despite Record Harvest
By Karl Plume and Michael Hirtzer CHICAGO, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A glut of idled river barges is clogging Mississippi River shorelines from St. Louis to New Orleans, leaving U.S. barge companies that haul grain, coal and other bulk goods counting their losses. Even with record-large exports of corn and soybeans, typically a boon for shippers that haul grain to Gulf Coast … [Read more...]
Hungary, Bulgaria Shipping on Danube as River Freezes Over
BUDAPEST, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Hungary and Bulgaria have banned shipping on the Danube as the river is freezing over and floating ice poses a risk. Gabriella Siklos, spokeswoman for the Hungarian General Directorate of Water Management, told Reuters on Tuesday that the ban was effective from 1500 GMT. Bulgarian river supervision authorities have also banned shipping on the … [Read more...]
Low Water Hampers Shipping on Rhine, Danube River
HAMBURG, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Low water levels persist on the Rhine and Danube in Germany and cargo vessels cannot sail fully loaded on the German sections of both rivers, traders said on Monday. The Rhine is too shallow to allow vessels to sail with full loads south of Cologne and Duisburg, traders said. Water levels have been unusually low since early … [Read more...]
Flooding Disrupts Grain Shipping on Illinois River
By Tom Polansek and Karl Plume CHICAGO, June 17 (Reuters) - Flooding halted barge traffic on the Illinois River on Wednesday and high water levels prompted futures market operator CME Group Inc to declare force majeure for all corn and soybean shipping stations for the first time in more than two years. Barge lines have voluntarily stopped shipping traffic after heavy … [Read more...]
Kirby Triples 2014 New Tank Barge Capacity
Houston-based Kirby Corporation announced this week plans to construct an additional 29 tank barges totaling more than 850,000 barrels of new capacity to be delivered throughout 2014. Kirby Corp., the nation's largest domestic tank barge operator, says it has signed agreements to construct 29 30,000 barrel inland tank barges for a total capacity of 870,000 barrels. Kirby … [Read more...]