Waterways Journal

The following is a list of Jones Act waivers posted by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) as of April 30, 2026. The first waiver reported involved the …

Rep. Sam Graves (Mo.-06), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced April 22 that he had secured a $27,324,552 Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) Grant for the Marion-Ralls …

The Seamen’s Church Institute’s Center for Maritime Education (CME) has established a new partnership with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, Miss.,, with the goal …

The Buffalo Engineer District awarded an $11.7 million contract to New York-based DMYLES, Inc. on April 9 to conduct dredging of the federal navigation channel in Cleveland Harbor twice this …

On March 25, Crosby Enterprises LLC announced that four of its subsidiaries– Crosby Tugs LLC, Crosby Dredging LLC, Crosby Marine Transportation LLC and Bertucci Contracting Company, LLC — had filed …

Each year, the Towing Vessel Inspection Bureau (TVIB) awards the Mike Rushing Legacy Service Award to an individual who has embodied professional leadership, commitment to service and an unwavering dedication …

Mid-to-late April 1865 was full of news. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, the hunt for and eventual killing of his assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was ongoing, and the Civil War …

Confirming the fears of Jones Act supporters, President Donald Trump’s administration announced April 24 that it has extended an initial 60-day waiver of the act for another 90 days. The …

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been experiencing a partial shutdown since mid-February, making it the longest such funding shutdown in U.S. history. The shutdown is putting pay for …

House and Senate Republicans hit an impasse over a Senate-passed budget blueprint designed to end the months-long shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and trigger an expedited reconciliation …

C&C Marine and Repair, the full-service shipyard located on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Belle Chasse, La., announced April 27 that it has surpassed 700 barges blasted at its patented …

John “Wayne” Meunier passed away April 26 at Mercy Health Hospice in Paducah, Ky. He retired as the director of the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority. An avid outdoorsman, Meunier enjoyed …

The Paducah Propeller Club will celebrate National Maritime Day and honor award recipients Randy Chamness and Julie Harris during a ceremony at 9:30 a.m. May 16 at the Seamen’s Church …

Floods have caused openings on the east bank of the Lower Mississippi River below New Orleans that are reducing the river’s power, scientists say. This issue was explored April 14 …

This past week, the Corn Belt Ports and We Work the Waterways announced their participation in the Corn Belt Ports Rural Maritime and Logistics Training and Education Consortium, a partnership …

The National Transportation Safety Board believes debris may have contacted two barges that broke away from an Ohio River dock in high water in 2024, causing an estimated $2.5 million …

The Corps of Engineers awarded the second contract for Increment I of the Brandon Road Interbasin Project to JF Brennan Inc., of La Crosse, Wis., on April 11. The $113.8 …

A piece by David Murray in the March 26 issue of The Waterways Journal told of a large-scale model of the excursion boat Admiral on exhibit at the National Transportation …

Inland ports and terminals in Missouri have an opportunity to get state assistance for capital improvement purchases or projects that enhance their ability to handle and move freight. They will …

Denny Burns, 78, died April 20. He was vice president and co-owned Memphis-based Patton-Tully Marine with his wife of 52 years, Virginia Burns, who served as chief executive officer. Their …

C&C Marine and Repair marked a milestone April 17 with a keel-laying ceremony at its Belle Chasse, La., shipyard for a new series of four hybrid escort tugs being built …

Four people escaped injury April 16 after being rescued from the water when their skiff overturned in high wind just upstream of Markland Locks and Dam. Bellaire Harbor Service said …

The last column was inspired by a near century old pay ledger that had been repurposed into a scrapbook by riverman Palmer Fisher, a friend of many years to the …

This issue, focusing on the often overlooked barge fleeting sector, highlights the role of the Greater New Orleans Barge Fleeting Association. A generation of founders and leaders of GNOBFA worked …

The Corps of Engineers 2026 Work Plan, which lays out allocations of and additions to already-appropriated money, didn’t contain many surprises when it was released April 7 but did include …

The Port of Corpus Christi announced April 15 that it experienced a record first quarter for 2026, surpassing its previous record quarter of 2024. The port reported a performance of …

Ferry operators have until May 11 to apply for federal grant funds. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced April 6 that investments of $657 million to improve America’s ferry infrastructure …

Mobile Bay has secured $34 million in Corps of Engineers funding through its 2026 fiscal year work plan. The funding comes after campaigning by Alabama Sen. Katie Britt (R.-Ala.), whose …

Ma Cherry Trivedi, Illinois International Port District Ma Cherry Trivedi was recently announced as the new chief operating officer at the Illinois International Port District. IIPD commended Trivedi’s 25 years …

Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle announced he has directed that the management and execution of the Brandon Road Interbasin Project (BRIP) be immediately transferred from …

Master Boat Builders Inc., a maritime construction company based in Coden, Ala., recently announced the launch of the mv. Saturn. The new build is the first of four escort tugs …

The Trump administration’s proposed Commercial Shipbuilding Infrastructure Development Program is a new $250 million initiative in President Donald Trump’s FY 2027 budget request, aimed at modernizing U.S. shipyard infrastructure and …

Aimee Andres, executive director of Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals Inc. (IRPT) detailed the organization’s history, accomplishments and priorities for the future at the April 8 Paducah Propeller Club meeting. …

Brad Stout, navigation operations manager for the Louisville Engineer District, detailed some of the district’s major projects April 9 as part of the Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals Inc. (IRPT) …

Past International Propeller Club President Maria Conatser headlined a lunch the Paducah Propeller Club hosted April 9 in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Industry Day and the …

For fleet operators, routine inspections and independent surveys can be easy to postpone when day-to-day demands keep towboats moving and fleeting areas full. But Jeff Vogrin of TowEx Maritime Consulting …

“We’re just getting started,” Turn Services’ website landing page proclaims. “From our start in 1990 with a single barge fleet at Burnside, La., to today’s fleet of pushboats and locations …

Trumbull River Services was established in Lacon, Illinois, by Ed and Ann Trumbull in 1973. The harbor and fleeting business had operated on the Illinois River at Lacon, serving the …

Ameritank LLC is developing a 147-acre liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage terminal and industrial complex on the Houston Ship Channel in La Porte, Texas. Designed to be a “strategic, multi-modal …

Choices in life are sometimes made from desperation. Such choices may not end well, but some work out exceptionally well. It was just such a choice that Charles Neale faced …

The Waterways Journal has announced the recipients of the 2026 IMX 40 Under 40 Awards, which recognize young professionals for their hard work and dedication to the inland marine industry. …

Vulcan Materials, a construction aggregates company based in Birmingham, Ala., christened the new mv. Larry Gravely on April 3 in a ceremony held at the company’s shipyard in Norfolk, Va. …

C&B Enterprises has repositioned itself over the past five years from a traditional inland marine operator into a vertically integrated maritime logistics and construction company. That shift — driven by …

Some of the technology that recently brought four astronauts around the moon and back as part of NASA’s Artemis II mission first took a very different ride – pushed by …

“It was the Wild West for some of the barge fleets on the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans,” Alan Savoie said. He was speaking of the time …

A technology provider focused on inland marine logistics is working to reduce inefficiencies in barge transportation by improving data visibility and operational decision-making, according to its chief executive. Jason Aristides, …

Jason Aristides is founder and CEO of Open Tug, an innovative software platform completely dedicated to making barge operations faster, safer, more efficient and more profitable. Since 2019, Open Tug …

At the time of this writing, a cease-fire with Iran and some version of a re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz continues. If it holds it will surely be welcome …

By Jim Myers WJ Washington Correspondent Following his earlier action to allow Transportation Security Administration workers to be paid during the partial shutdown, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum to …

Saltchuk Resources Inc. completed its acquisition of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation on April 1. The transaction closed for a purchase price of $17 per share in cash and …