New Orleans-based Harbor Towing & Fleeting, which operates Star Fleet, one of the oldest barge fleeting locations on the Lower Mississippi River, has announced plans to open a new barge fleeting facility on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) just east of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Lock.
Named Star Fleet East, the new facility will be located between GIWW mile markers 9 and 10 (east of Harvey Lock). The company will begin operations at the fleet later this month.
“Star Fleet East is a direct response to what our customers have asked for — more safe, reliable fleeting capacity in the Port of New Orleans,” said Todd Clower, CEO and third-generation owner of Harbor Towing & Fleeting. “My grandfather founded this company in 1970 on a simple idea: give barge lines a first-class New Orleans towing and fleeting operation with personal service and attention to their needs. Star Fleet East carries that vision forward on the Intracoastal Waterway.”
Waldemar S. Nelson and Company designed the new barge fleet, and Durward Dunn Inc. built it. The fleet stretch 4,000 linear feet with 20 monopile mooring dolphins that each measure 54 inches in diameter and are spaced 185 feet apart. The fleet will also offer a 470-foot center lane to ease building tow.
The new barge fleet brings Harbor Towing & Fleeting’s total capacity to 8,000 linear feet and continues the company’s specialization in tank barge fleeting, while also adding to its growing dry cargo business. The company’s flagship fleet is located at Lower Mississippi River Mile 91 (above Head of Passes) on the right descending bank.
With the two facilities, Harbor Towing & Fleeting serves barge lines moving cargoes on both the Lower Mississippi River and GIWW. Besides barge fleeting, the company owns and operates a fleet of towboats that provide towing and shifting on the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge, La., and Venice, La., and on the GIWW from Morgan City, La., to Mobile, Ala.
The history of Star Fleet dates back to Federal Barge Lines, founded by the U.S. government as the Inland Waterways Corporation in 1924 to move goods and wartime supplies between terminals scattered along nation’s rivers. Federal Barge Lines was privatized in the early 1950s.
G.D. Clower, Todd Clower’s grandfather, bought the New Orleans fleeting operation in 1970 and launched Harbor Towing & Fleeting. G.D. Clower’s son, Gerald E. “Jerry” Clower, now serves as president and owner of the company today, with Jerry’s son, Todd, serving as CEO and owner.
