Extended Operational and Trade Vocabulary

US Inland Waterway Towing and Barge glossary

The US inland-towing vocabulary: the ABS River Rules for inland hulls, the named locks and waterways (the Tennessee-Tombigbee, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway), the western-rivers towing terms, and the tank-barge and tow-configuration terms. Grounds each term in the inland-waterway infrastructure or the towing-vessel rule it belongs to.

476 defined terms.

Showing 250 on this page (page 1 of 2).

A

AAR: Average Adjuster's Report; settlement document apportioning general average contributions.
Aberdeen Lock: A lock on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Mississippi, part of the chain that lifts tows from Demopolis pool toward the Tennessee River divide cut.
ABS: American Bureau of Shipping; IACS member classification society.
ABS River Rules: The ABS Rules for Building and Classing Vessels Intended for Service on Rivers and Intracoastal Waterways, the principal class reference for inland hulls.
ACBL: American Commercial Barge Line, the Jeffersonville, Indiana headquartered dry and liquid cargo barge operator and one of the largest US inland fleets.
Acetone Barge: An inland chemical tank barge configured to carry acetone, typically under nitrogen pad and with vapor control fittings.
Acrylonitrile Barge: A specialized inland chemical tank barge handling acrylonitrile, requiring inhibitor monitoring and inerted ullage.
ADM: Archer Daniels Midland, the agricultural processor whose ARTCO subsidiary operates one of the largest US grain barge fleets.
Advance Order of Movement: A scheduling notice filed with a lock master indicating the expected arrival, tow configuration and locking sequence of an approaching towboat.
Aft Tow: The trailing portion of a multi-string barge tow as measured from the pushboat's face wires forward.
Aggregates Barge: A deck or open hopper barge carrying sand, gravel or crushed stone on inland waters.
Ahead Bell: A wheelhouse order to apply forward propulsion, often communicated by Kahlenberg or electronic engine order on inland towboats.
Air draft: Vertical distance from waterline to highest fixed point of the ship.
Aliceville Lock: A lock on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Alabama within the Bevill Reservoir reach.
Alma: A Wisconsin town on the Upper Mississippi River and the site of Lock and Dam 4.
Alton: An Illinois city on the Upper Mississippi River adjacent to the Melvin Price Locks and Dam.
Ambrose Channel: An ocean approach channel; not part of the inland river system but commonly referenced where coastwise tank barges interchange with inland fleets.
American Commercial Barge Line: See ACBL, the Jeffersonville, Indiana barge line formed by the consolidation of American Barge Line and Commercial Barge Line interests.
American Waterways Operators: The Arlington, Virginia trade association founded in 1944 representing US tugboat, towboat and barge operators.
Ammonia Barge: A pressurized inland tank barge carrying anhydrous ammonia to agricultural and industrial terminals.
Anchor Handling: Deployment and recovery of ground tackle, beach gear, and mooring spreads.
Anhydrous Ammonia Barge: A pressure-vessel tank barge built to carry liquefied anhydrous ammonia under refrigeration or pressure for fertilizer service.
Apprentice Mate: The entry-level USCG license for a towing vessel deck officer, also referred to as Apprentice Mate (Steersman).
Apron: Quayside area between ship and stacking yard.
Arkansas River: A Mississippi tributary navigable by the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System from the Mississippi to Catoosa, Oklahoma.
ARTCO: American River Transportation Company, the inland barge subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland.
Articulated tug barge: ATB unit common in US coastal trade.
ATB: Articulated Tug Barge, integrated unit used in US coastal oil response and lightering.
AtoN: Aid to Navigation, any device or system external to a vessel designed to assist navigation.
Auxiliary Chamber: The smaller secondary lock chamber alongside the main chamber, often 600 by 110 feet on the Upper Mississippi River system.
AWO: See American Waterways Operators.

B

Back-Haul: The return leg of a barge movement, typically northbound on the Mississippi after southbound grain delivery.
Backing Wire: A face wire arrangement used when the pushboat must control sternward movement of the tow.
Backwater: Slack water in a river bend or behind a structure where barges may be fleeted.
Bank-Full: A river stage at which water reaches the top of its natural banks.
Bar: Shoal at a harbor entrance.
Barge: Tank vessel used for bunker delivery alongside ocean-going ships in port and at anchorage.
Barge Bumper: A timber or rubber fender fitted to a barge to absorb contact loads during fleeting and locking.
Barge Fleet: A group of barges moored together at a fleeting area awaiting tow assignment.
Barge Pocket: A designated mooring area at a riverside terminal or fleeting facility.
Barge String: A longitudinal row of barges within a tow, typically two to five barges long.
Barge Transom: The flat stern face of a hopper or tank barge that receives the pushboat's knees.
Barkley Lock: A US Army Corps of Engineers lock on the Cumberland River near Grand Rivers, Kentucky.
Barrel: The standard petroleum measure of 42 US gallons used in inland tank barge cargo accounting.
Beam: Maximum breadth of the ship.
Beam sea: Seas approaching the vessel from abeam.
Belleville Locks and Dam: An Ohio River navigation structure in West Virginia.
Belly Plate: The bottom shell plating of a hopper or tank barge.
Benzene Barge: An inland chemical tank barge carrying benzene, subject to vapor recovery and personnel exposure controls.
Bilge keel: Longitudinal fin on the turn of bilge to damp roll motion.
Bitt: Vertical post on deck for securing lines.
Bittin' Up: The act of securing a wire on a bitt during barge coupling operations.
Boatswain: Senior unlicensed deck rating; bosun.
Bollard: Mooring fitting on quay or dolphin.
Bollard pull: Tug pulling force in tonnes.
Bow Knees: See Knees.
Bow Rake: The angled bow plating of a hopper or tank barge that reduces resistance when leading a tow.
Bow Wire: A line or wire run from the lead barge to control the head of a tow.
Box Barge: A barge with a square bow and stern, used internally within a tow rather than as a lead barge.
Bridge Clearance: The vertical distance available between river stage and the low steel of a bridge.
Bridge Pier: A supporting structure of a bridge, often protected by a fender or dolphin system.
Bridge Span: The horizontal distance between piers governing channel width for navigation.
Briquette: A compressed cargo form sometimes shipped in covered hopper barges.
Brownsville Pool: The Monongahela River navigation pool above Lock 4 at Charleroi.
Bumper Boat: A small workboat that assists in positioning barges within a fleet.
Bunker barge: Tanker delivering fuel oil, MGO, or LNG to a cruise ship at berth or at anchor.
Buoy: Floating navigation mark or float used to mark a mooring.
Bushel: The customary US grain measure used in barge load tickets, equal to 60 pounds for soybeans and 56 pounds for corn.

C

Cairo: The Illinois city at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and the dividing point between the Upper and Lower Mississippi.
Cannelton Locks and Dam: An Ohio River navigation structure in Indiana.
Capstan: Vertical-axis rotating drum used for heaving on ropes or cable.
Captain: Master of a passenger ship, holding overall command and SOLAS responsibility.
Cargill: The agricultural processor whose Cargo Carriers and CGB Enterprises interests participate in inland grain barging.
Cargo Manifest: Statutory list of cargo carried.
Cargo Tank: Permanent or portable tank installed for the carriage of liquids in bulk, regulated under IMDG when carrying packaged tank containers.
Caustic Soda Barge: An inland chemical tank barge transporting sodium hydroxide solution.
Cell: Discrete electrochemical area on a steel surface where corrosion or protection currents flow.
Cement Barge: A specialized covered hopper or pneumatic barge moving bulk Portland cement.
Center Pump Room: The midships pump house of an inland tank barge housing cargo and stripping pumps.
CFR: Cost and Freight, Incoterm 2020.
CGB: Consolidated Grain and Barge Co., a Mandeville, Louisiana headquartered grain origination and barge operating company.
Chain of Rocks: A reach immediately north of St. Louis bypassed by the Chain of Rocks Canal containing Locks 27.
Chamber: The walled basin of a lock in which a tow is raised or lowered.
Channel marker: IALA buoy or beacon.
Charleroi Locks and Dam: A Monongahela River navigation structure in Pennsylvania.
Chemical Tank Barge: An inland tank barge constructed and certificated for carriage of chemicals under Subchapter O of 46 CFR.
Chickamauga Lock: A Tennessee Valley Authority lock on the Tennessee River near Chattanooga.
Chock: Mooring fitting that guides a line outboard.
Chouteau Lock: An informal historical reference for Locks 27 at the lower end of the Chain of Rocks Canal.
Clarksville: A Missouri river town adjacent to Lock and Dam 24 on the Upper Mississippi.
Class I Towing Vessel: A categorization sometimes used informally to refer to large line-haul push boats.
Clearance Gauge: A board or staff at a bridge indicating the available vertical clearance for the current river stage.
Coal Barge: An open hopper barge carrying steam or metallurgical coal on the Ohio and Mississippi systems.
Coffeeville Lock: A lock on the Tombigbee River in Alabama upstream of Mobile.
Coil Tank Barge: A tank barge equipped with steam heating coils for cargoes such as asphalt or molten sulfur.
Combined Hopper: A hopper barge with both covered and open holds.
Communications Channel 13: VHF marine channel used for bridge-to-bridge navigation communications including lock calling on US inland waters.
Communications Channel 16: VHF marine distress and calling channel.
Concrete Barge: A barge constructed of reinforced concrete, used historically and occasionally for stationary service.
Condition Survey: Overall assessment of structural and machinery condition for insurance or sale.
Confluence: The point where two rivers meet, such as the Ohio and Mississippi at Cairo.
Containerized Barge: A deck or hopper barge carrying intermodal containers, used in limited US inland services such as on the Tennessee River.
Coupling Wire: A wire rope used to bind two barges or a barge and pushboat together.
Covered Hopper Barge: A hopper barge with lift-off or rolling covers protecting weather-sensitive cargo such as grain or fertilizer.
Crane Barge: Self-propelled or towed pontoon carrying a heavy lift crane for wreck removal.
Crew Boat: A small high-speed aluminum vessel used to transport personnel and stores to fleets, terminals and offshore platforms.
Crounse Corporation: A Paducah, Kentucky dry cargo barge line specializing in coal and grain.
Crude Oil Barge: An inland tank barge configured for carriage of crude petroleum, required to be double-hulled under OPA 90 after the 2015 phase-out.
Cumberland River: A Mississippi River tributary navigable from Smithland, Kentucky upstream to Nashville and beyond.
Current: Horizontal movement of water; ocean current is permanent, tidal stream is periodic.

D

Dashields Locks and Dam: An Ohio River navigation structure in Pennsylvania.
Day Marker: An unlit aid to navigation, typically a green square or red triangle on a pile or shore.
DDGS: Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles, a co-product of ethanol production frequently moved in covered hopper barges.
Deck Barge: Flat-decked unmanned barge used to carry pumps, salvage gear, and recovered wreckage.
Deck Winch: A powered winch used to tension wires during coupling and breaking tow.
Deckhand: Junior deck crew member handling cleaning, lines, tenders, and watchkeeping.
Demopolis Lock: A lock on the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway in Alabama.
Descending: Moving downstream on a river, the convention used in navigation reports.
Diesel-Electric Towboat: A towboat in which diesel engines drive generators that power electric propulsion motors.
Differential Pressure Gauge: An instrument used to monitor cargo tank loading rates and venting on a tank barge.
Dike: A river training structure projecting from the bank to direct flow and maintain channel depth.
Dock: enclosed water body with or without lock gates.
Dolphin: Isolated marine structure.
Double-Hull Tank Barge: An inland tank barge with a void or ballast space between the cargo tanks and the outer shell, required for petroleum service since the OPA 90 phase-out completed in 2015.
Draft: Vertical distance from waterline to lowest point of the hull.
Draft survey: Cargo weight determination by hydrostatic calculation.
Drawdown: A controlled lowering of a navigation pool for maintenance or flood routing.
Dredged Channel: A navigation channel maintained at project depth by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Drift: Speed of a current; leeway of a vessel.
Dry Cargo Barge: Any barge carrying solid cargo such as grain, coal, ore or stone, as distinct from a tank barge.
Dubuque: An Iowa river city adjacent to Lock and Dam 11 on the Upper Mississippi.

E

Eddy: Circular movement of water counter to the main current.
Electronic Chart: A digital navigation chart used aboard towing vessels, often provided by the US Army Corps of Engineers Inland Electronic Navigation Chart program.
Emergency Shutdown System: A tank barge cargo system that closes valves and stops pumps on activation.
Emsworth Locks and Dam: The uppermost Ohio River navigation structure in the Pittsburgh area.
End of Tow: The trailing barge or barges in a tow.
Engine Order Telegraph: A device transmitting wheelhouse propulsion orders to the engine room or directly to electronic controls.
EPIRB: Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon required under SOLAS IV/7.
Ethanol Barge: An inland tank barge carrying fuel-grade ethanol, classified as a flammable cargo.

F

Face Up: The act of pushing a towboat's bow into the stern of the lead trailing barge and making fast.
Face Wire: A heavy steel wire that secures the towboat to the tow at the face-up coupling.
Fall Line: The geographic boundary between the Piedmont and Coastal Plain where many eastern rivers cease to be navigable; less central to western river towing but referenced for tributary planning.
Falls of the Ohio: A natural rapid at Louisville, Kentucky bypassed by the McAlpine Locks and the historical Louisville and Portland Canal.
Fender System: Timber, rubber or steel structures protecting bridge piers or lock walls from vessel impact.
Fertilizer Barge: A covered hopper or tank barge carrying solid or liquid agricultural nutrients.
Fleet: A group of barges moored together awaiting service or assignment.
Fleet Boat: Small towing vessel handling barges within a fleeting area on US rivers.
Fleeting Area: Designated river bank or basin for assembling and storing barges between tows.
Float: A floating dock or platform used in fleeting or terminal service.
Floating Mooring Bitt: A bitt installed in a recess on a lock wall that rises and falls with water level during lockage.
Flood Pool: The elevated reservoir level maintained behind a dam during high water.
Flood Stage: A specified river stage above which significant overbank flooding occurs.
Following sea: Sea running in the same direction as the ship.
Fore-and-aft: Lengthwise; parallel to the keel.
Forward Tow: The barges ahead of the pushboat's face-up position.
Foundered Barge: A barge that has sunk at its mooring or in transit.
FPSF: Fuel Pollution Surveillance Fee; not a primary inland term but cited in some US tank barge tariffs.
Freeboard: Distance from waterline to freeboard deck, governed by the Load Lines Convention but referenced in SOLAS.
Fuel Tank Barge: A tank barge dedicated to carriage of petroleum fuels rather than chemicals.

G

Galena: An Illinois town on the Mississippi tributary Galena River, historically a lead shipping point.
Gate: The principal moving element of a lock, typically a miter, sector or tainter gate.
General Anchor Area: A designated reach on a river where vessels may anchor with USACE or Coast Guard concurrence.
General Permit: A USACE regulatory permit covering routine waterway activities.
Genesis Marine: A Houston-based inland and coastwise tank barge operator.
Genoa: Overlapping headsail used on Bermudian-rigged yachts.
GIWW: Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, sheltered inland route from Brownsville, Texas, to Carrabelle, Florida, about 1,300 miles.
Glover Wilkins Lock: A lock on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Mississippi.
Government Cut: A historic cut providing improved channel alignment; commonly used in dredging and engineering plans.
Grafton: An Illinois town at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.
Grain Barge: A covered hopper barge engaged in grain trade, typically loaded at Mid-Continent terminals for export through the Lower Mississippi River.
Grain Inspection: The USDA Federal Grain Inspection Service process for grading and weighing barge grain.
Granite City Pool: The Upper Mississippi pool below Melvin Price Locks and Dam.
Gravel Barge: An open hopper barge carrying construction aggregates.
Green Square: The shape of a green daymark used on US inland waterways to mark the left descending side of the channel.
Greenup Locks and Dam: An Ohio River navigation structure in Kentucky.
Ground tackle: Anchors, cables, and associated gear.
Groundings: Incidents in which a barge or towboat touches bottom; reported under USCG casualty rules.
Guard Lock: An auxiliary lock structure protecting a canal from flood waters.
Guide Wall: A wall extending upstream or downstream of a lock entrance to align approaching tows.
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway: The protected coastal waterway extending from Brownsville, Texas to St. Marks, Florida used heavily by inland tow operators.
Guntersville Lock: A Tennessee Valley Authority lock on the Tennessee River in Alabama.

H

Halter Marine: US shipbuilder at Pascagoula, Mississippi, building Coast Guard polar security cutters.
Hannibal: A Missouri river town in the L&D 22 area on the Upper Mississippi River.
Hannibal Locks and Dam: An Ohio River navigation structure in Ohio, distinct from the Mississippi town.
Harbor Boat: A small towboat employed in port and fleet shifting work.
Hard Aground: A grounding sufficient to require assist towage or lightering.
Hatch cover: Watertight cover over a cargo hatch.
Hatch Wire: A wire used to secure hatch covers in place during transit.
Hawser: Heavy rope or cable for mooring or towing.
Hazardous Material Barge: A tank or hopper barge certificated to carry hazardous materials under 49 CFR and 46 CFR.
Headlog: The transverse beam at the bow or stern of a hopper barge.
Heated Tank Barge: A tank barge equipped with cargo heating coils for viscous or congealing cargoes.
Heavy Lift Barge: A reinforced deck barge designed for very heavy single-piece cargoes.
High Water: Highest tidal level reached.
Hold: Cargo compartment below decks.
Hopper barge: Self propelled or towed dredger spoil barge.
Howard Lock: A lock on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Mississippi.
Hull: Watertight envelope of the ship, fabricated as blocks and assembled in the building dock.
Hull Policy: A marine insurance policy covering physical damage to a barge or towboat hull and machinery.
Humpline: A line rigged over an obstruction such as a barge cover or coaming.
Huntington District: The US Army Corps of Engineers district headquartered in Huntington, West Virginia with responsibility for portions of the Ohio River basin.

I

ICC Number: A historical Interstate Commerce Commission identifier still referenced in older barge equipment records.
Illinois Waterway: The navigable system extending from Lake Michigan at Chicago to the Mississippi River at Grafton, Illinois.
IMUA: Inland Marine Underwriters Association, a US trade body for inland marine insurers.
Inboard Engine: A diesel engine mounted within the hull of a towboat as opposed to an outboard installation.
Inboard Profile: Naval architecture drawing showing internal arrangements.
Inert gas system: IGS, system inerting tanker cargo tanks.
Ingram Barge Company: The barge operating arm of Ingram Marine Group, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee and active since 1946.
Ingram Marine Group: The Nashville, Tennessee inland operator widely recognized as the largest US inland dry cargo carrier.
Inland Marine Hull Policy: A marine insurance policy specifically written for inland barges and towboats.
Inland Tank Barge: A tank barge constructed for service on US inland and intracoastal waters, with typical principal dimensions near 297 by 54 by 12 feet.
Inland Waterways Trust Fund: A federal trust fund financed by a barge fuel tax that supports USACE inland navigation construction and major rehabilitation.
Inspected Towing Vessel: A towing vessel certificated under Subchapter M of 46 CFR.
Insurance Survey: A condition or risk inspection commissioned by hull, machinery, or P&I insurers to assess underwriting exposure.
Intermediate Cell: A floating bollard cell located between the main lock walls; not commonly used but referenced in some chambers.
Intermodal Barge: A barge carrying intermodal containers in inland service, such as on the Tennessee-Tombigbee or Ohio.
Iron Triangle: Industry shorthand for the confluence reaches near Cairo, Illinois.

J

Jeffersonville: The Indiana city across the Ohio River from Louisville, home to American Commercial Barge Line.
Jet Pump: Pump using motive fluid through a venturi to entrain and pump a second stream.
Jumbo Hopper Barge: Mississippi system barge of 200 ft by 35 ft by 12 ft, approximately 1,800 tons capacity.
Jumbo Tank Barge: A tank barge of approximately 297 by 54 feet, the standard inland petroleum and chemical barge size.

K

Kahlenberg: A manufacturer of marine horns and engine controls commonly found aboard US inland towboats.
Kanawha River: A West Virginia tributary of the Ohio River navigable through a series of USACE locks and dams.
Kaskaskia River: An Illinois tributary of the Mississippi with limited navigation.
Kentucky Lock: A Tennessee Valley Authority lock at the mouth of the Tennessee River near Grand Rivers, Kentucky.
Kevel: Heavy belaying cleat.
KEX: The NYSE ticker symbol for Kirby Corporation.
Kirby Corporation: The Houston, Texas parent company of Kirby Inland Marine, a NYSE-listed inland tank barge operator.
Kirby Inland Marine: The inland tank barge operating arm of Kirby Corporation, regarded as the largest US inland tank barge fleet.
Knee: A vertical steel projection on the bow of a pushboat that bears against the stern transom of the lead barge in a face-up coupling.
Knot: One nautical mile per hour.
KORT nozzle: Accelerating ducted-propeller nozzle.

L

Lake Pontchartrain: A Louisiana lake adjacent to the GIWW system used in limited towing service.
Lashing: Securing containers on a vessel with rods, turnbuckles, and twistlocks.
Lead Barge: The barge at the head of a tow that is first to encounter current, wind and obstructions.
LeClaire: An Iowa town on the Upper Mississippi River adjacent to Lock and Dam 14.
Length overall: Greatest length of the vessel.
Lift: The vertical change in water level achieved by a lock during a single lockage.
Lighter: Flat-bottomed harbor vessel for transferring cargo to and from ships in roadsteads.
Lightering: Transfer of cargo or bunkers from casualty to lighter vessels.
Line Boat: Small workboat used to run lines from a ship to a quay or buoy, often working in conjunction with tugs.
Line-Haul: Long-distance river towing as opposed to local fleet or harbor work.
Liquid Cargo Barge: A general term for any tank barge carrying liquid cargo.
Liquid Sulfur Barge: A heated tank barge carrying molten elemental sulfur.
LMR: See Lower Mississippi River.
Load line: Statutory waterline mark per ICLL 1966.
Lock: Navigation lock raising or lowering vessels.
Lock and Dam: A combined navigation structure used to maintain navigable depth and pass vessels across the dam.
Lock and Dam 1: The Upper Mississippi River lock at St. Paul, Minnesota.
Lock and Dam 11: The Upper Mississippi River lock at Dubuque, Iowa.