en.Wedoany.com Reported - In response to growing demand for barge fleeting capacity in the Port of New Orleans, Harbor Towing & Fleeting has announced the construction of a new barge fleeting facility on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW). Named "Star Fleet East," the facility is located directly east of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Lock, between GIWW Mile Markers 9 and 10 (east of the Harvey Lock), and the company plans to begin operations later this month.
The New Orleans-based company operates the historic Star Fleet fleeting yard on the lower Mississippi River. Todd Clower, CEO and third-generation owner, stated that the Star Fleet East project directly responds to customer demands for more adequate and safer fleeting capacity. He noted that when his grandfather founded the company in 1970, the core business philosophy was to provide high-quality towboat and fleeting services for barge lines, with an emphasis on personalized customer care; the new facility is an extension of this philosophy onto the inland waterway.
The new fleeting facility was designed by Waldemar S. Nelson and Company and constructed by Durward Dunn Inc. The facility totals 4,000 linear feet, equipped with 20 single-pile mooring dolphins, each 54 inches in diameter and spaced 185 feet apart, and features a 470-foot-wide center channel to facilitate fleet assembly operations.
With the new facility in operation, Harbor Towing & Fleeting's total fleeting capacity will increase to 8,000 linear feet. While maintaining its traditional strength in oil barge fleeting, the company is also expanding its growing dry cargo capabilities through this addition. The company's flagship fleeting yard is located on the right descending bank at Mile 91 on the lower Mississippi River (above Pass a Loutre).
Currently, Harbor Towing & Fleeting supports barge lines transporting cargo on the lower Mississippi River and the GIWW from two facilities. In addition to fleeting services, the company operates a fleet of towboats, with towing and shifting operations covering the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Venice, Louisiana, as well as along the GIWW from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Mobile, Alabama.
The history of Star Fleet dates back to 1924 with the establishment of Federal Barge Lines by the U.S. government, originally named the Inland Waterways Corporation, which transported cargo and wartime supplies between river terminals nationwide before being privatized in the early 1950s. In 1970, Todd Clower's grandfather, G.D. Clower, acquired the New Orleans fleeting operations and founded Harbor Towing & Fleeting. Currently, G.D. Clower's son, Gerald E. "Jerry" Clower, serves as the company's President and owner, while Jerry's son, Todd, serves as CEO and owner.
