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U.S. Maritime Administration Grant to Support Container-on-Barge Service between Ports of Greater Baton Rouge and New Orleans

Primary Objective

Key Accomplishments

  • Partnership between the Ports of New Orleans and Greater Baton Rouge, SEACOR AMH, and Ports America established container-on-barge service between Memphis, Baton Route, and New Orleans.
  • Partners jointly received a $1.75 million grant from U.S. Maritime Administration to purchase equipment to expedite processing.
  • Container-on-barge shuttle service runs 7-9 hopper barges per week, with the potential to eliminate between 336 and 432 truck trips per week (up to about 22,500 truck trips per year).
  • State of Louisiana has the potential to recoup $118 in roadway maintenance savings by moving a 40-foot container round trip between New Orleans and Baton Rouge by barge rather than over the road.

In response to a booming chemical industry in Louisiana, the Ports of New Orleans and Greater Baton Rouge, SEACOR AMH, and Ports America began operating container-on-barge shuttle service in July 2016 between Baton Rouge and New Orleans to support the transportation of petrochemicals via inland waterway transportation. Container-on-barge is a type of intermodal freight transport where containers are moved by barge instead of by truck. The service repositions empty containers from Memphis, where there is a surplus, to Baton Rouge. From there, empty containers are filled with plastic resins and then shipped again via barge to New Orleans, where they are loaded onto container ships bound for international destinations. The service currently runs between seven and nine hopper barges per week, providing exporters with a waterway alternative for repositioning containers that would otherwise move by truck or rail.

According to data from a U.S. DOT study, the State of Louisiana has the potential to recoup $118 million in roadway maintenance savings by moving a 40-foot container round trip between New Orleans and Baton Rouge by barge rather than over the road. At nine barges per week, the container-on-barge shuttle service has the potential to eliminate up to 22,500 truck trips per year and save approximately $1.3 million annually in roadway maintenance costs.

Implementation Approach

The Port of New Orleans and SEACOR have been in talks since 2014 about ways to utilize inland water transportation to support Louisiana's petrochemical production. In October 2016, the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) jointly awarded SEACOR (operator and developer of container-on-barge shuttle service), the Ports of New Orleans and Greater Baton Rouge, and Ports America (terminal operator of both ports) a grant of $1.75 million to acquire specialized container loading equipment for the container-on-barge shuttle service to increase the processing speed of loading and unloading containers onto the hopper barges. SEACOR will provide a 20 percent match for the Port of New Orleans equipment, and the Port of Baton Rouge will provide a 20 percent match for its equipment. One set of equipment will be at SEACOR's Memphis terminal owned by the Port of New Orleans, and the second set of equipment will be at SEACOR's Baton Rouge terminal owned by the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. SEACOR will lease the equipment from each port for a nominal fee.

photo of a shipping container hoisted above a barge by a crane

Container-on-barge activity at the Port of New Orleans, Louisiana. Source: Port of New Orleans.

The Port of New Orleans equipment will be acquired once the Port identifies and selects a U.S.-based manufacturer. The Port of Greater Baton Route will acquire its container handler equipment once it is approved for a waiver from a Buy America requirement that the equipment be purchased from a U.S.-based manufacturer. This type of equipment is not currently produced domestically.

Local Contact

Janine Mansour, Commercial Director of Port of New Orleans, (504) 528-3533, moreauj@portno.com

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