Barges stacked on barges turned mariners’ heads recently when Weeks Marine Inc., transported four new sand barges – and a tugboat – from the Gulf of Mexico to New York Harbor.
The 300’x72’x19’ deck barge Weeks 99 arrived this week at the company’s Greenville Yard in Jersey City, N.J., carrying the four 150’x40’x19’ sand scow barges, topped off with the 54’x22’x8’, 700-hp tug George W.
The sand scows were built by Corn Island Shipyard, Inc., Grandview, Ind., and C&C Marine & Repair, Inc., Belle Chase, La. The next task of moving them most efficiently took some creative thinking and engineering.
After consulting with JMS Naval Architects, Essex, Conn., Weeks made the decision to double-stack the barges for transport, with the George W atop the second tier. JMS did the calculations, drawings and other analysis to support modifications for the load.
The four new barges will be used by Weeks’ subsidiary sand mining business, North American Aggregates.
The stack of barges can be seen from the Hudson River – until Weeks disassembles the unusual tow later this week, the company says
