The marine highway has proven to be a cost-effective and efficient method for transporting heavy equipment and other large items which are not easily transported on the interstate highways. Barge Transportation is capable of moving equipment weighing 10,267 short tons. A short ton is the equivalent of 2,000 pounds.

Barge Transportation is not limited to container shipping. Columbia Coastal Transport has been awarded a contract to bring together two halves of a destroyer being built by the U. S. Navy in two locations. Columbia Coastal will manage the logistics and handle the transport of the superstructure to Bath, Maine where the hull is being constructed. The destroyer housing will be transported to Bath in a second move. This is the first time a barge company has undertaken such an effort.

This project demonstrates the ability of Columbia Coastal’s barge operations to manage the complexity of transporting a very large structure. The housing is 150′ long by 62′ wide and 49′3″ high. The logistics and transportation challenges of transporting half of a destroyer more than 1500 miles on the marine highway support the viability of barge transportation of heavy equipment.

The Columbia Coastal barge operations will manage the loading and blocking of any equipment it transports. The equipment shipper can rely on the expertise of Columbia Coastal to safely transport heavy equipment for long distances. Transporting construction equipment over the interstate highway system poses more safety risks and equipment damage than transporting by barge. A construction firm’s insurance carrier should reduce the liability factor for shipping equipment on the marine highway.

Using a barge company eliminates most of the need for escort vehicles, if not all, and reduces the need for compliance with municipal regulations to a minimum.

Columbia Coastal provides roll-on/roll-off barges with access to shallow and undeveloped ports as well as coordination with all appropriate governmental authorities. Complete logistic and project planning services can be provided by an experienced staff.

Green conscious businesses can point with pride to the marine highway alternative. Columbia Coastal barges transport between 450 to 912 truckloads of containerized freight at one time which, on average, will offset more than 800,000 truck highway miles on a single, one-way voyage, or over 8 million gallons of diesel fuel per year. The transport of construction equipment is a minimal effort comparatively and the savings in gasoline and diesel fuel costs for equipment transporting is significant.

Columbia Coastal can provide every service a contractor requires to transport heavy equipment on barges. It is fast, efficient and lowers the worry factor over moving construction equipment safely over highways and through heavy vehicular traffic areas.

The severe weather that has gripped the U.S. requires that alternative methods of shipping heavy equipment be used. Whether it is the high heat or the floods, moving equipment by truck poses risks that the marine highway does not.