Southwest Shipyards intends to assemble the brand new crane barge at its Brady Island shipyard
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District in live performance with the Philadelphia District and the Corps’ Marine Design Center have awarded Southwest Shipyard LP of Houston a $11.4 million contractfor a brand new crane barge on the St. Marys River.
“The new crane barge will perform critical lock and hydropower facility maintenance at the Soo Project Office (Soo Locks),” stated Justin Proulx, Chief of the St. Marys River Section. “Additionally, the new vessel will support channel maintenance and will be ready to respond to critical maritime incidents on the St Marys River, such as vessel groundings and anchor drags.”
The last design, development, testing and supply of the Detroit District’s new asset are all a part of the awarded contract. Southwest Shipyards is a small enterprise and operates 4 shipyards alongside the Texas Gulf Coast. It intends to assemble the brand new barge at its Brady Island shipyard with supply anticipated in fall 2024.
The new crane barge can be 150 ft in size, have a beam of fifty ft, and a 10-foot molded depth, supporting a 220 ton lattice growth crawler crane. The new crane barge naming course of will happen over the subsequent few months.
The new crane barge will change the every day capabilities of the Soo Project Office’s Crane Barge Harvey, constructed in 1961, serving the Soo Locks and St. Marys River for over 60 years. The new crane barge can be barely bigger and is designed to fulfill the power upkeep wants, to incorporate the New Lock on the Soo, presently beneath development.
The Detroit District has marine fleets stationed at Detroit, Sault Sainte Marie, Mich. and Duluth, Minn. The district’s fleet engages in upkeep and restore of channels, harbors and navigation buildings all through the Great Lakes with 5 floating plant and tugboat combos.
The district maintains a navigation system of 81 harbors together with the channels becoming a member of lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, St. Clair and Erie.
![Capsized SEACOR Power on the evening of the accident, with a Coast Guard response boat in the foreground. [U.S. Coast Guard photograph]](https://marine-salvage.net/en/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/SEAOR_Power-75x75.jpg "NTSB: Severe winds led to deadly capsizing of SEACOR Power")
