Barge Applications

Deck Barge

Deck barges carry cargo on deck. They differ in size and structural design, depending upon their intended use. Deck cargos can be pipe, piling, fabricated structures, equipment, rock, palletized material or even horses, cattle, and rocket boosters. Certain liquid cargos may be carried in the interior watertight compartments. Deck barges can be work platforms for workers and machinery, thereby serving as an extension of land. Deck barges may have raised rake decks.

Pile Driving Barge

Pile-driving barges are used in marine construction to drive dock pilings, sheet piling and other marine construction piling. These barges are popular for building boat docks, boat houses, and driving sheet piling.

Crane Barge

Crane barges carry cranes, crawler cranes, excavators or any other heavy machinery. Crane barge assemblies may be easily sized and configured to provide additional deck area for material staging and equipment laydown.

By assembling modules into “H”, “T” and “U”-shaped configurations, the platform’s center of flotation may be shifted to permit the lift crane to be positioned on deck closer to the work, thereby reducing the radius at which heavy loads must be handled. The excellent stability characteristics of these shaped assemblies also minimize side-loading of the crane’s boom and they permit full, 360-degree rotation with rated hook loads.

Dredge Barge

Many stream and inshore dredging jobs are more quickly and economically performed with Flexifloat modular barge assemblies and conventional excavating equipment, including:

  • Clamshells
  • Draglines
  • Backhoes

Dredge barges are less expensive than hard-to-mobilize, expensive portable dredges. “U”-shaped Flexifloat assemblies have 360-degree stability for bucket casting. Additionally, the center opening of the assembly enables full utilization of the excavator’s reach and digging capacity. Holding spud attachments are available in several sizes and are used to anchor the barge against current and to resist the lateral digging forces generated by the machine.

Drilling Barge

Drilling barges work well for inland lakes, swamps, marshes and shallow water areas not easily accessed by conventional marine drilling rigs and equipment. Modular barge units and anchoring attachments can be transported by truck into these areas and quickly assembled on-site into shallow-draft, floating platforms for:

  • Seismic and geophysical equipment
  • Slim-hole rigs
  • Conventional land rigs
  • Well service equipment
  • Work-over rigs

Platforms on drilling barges have the necessary strength to support most of the modern drilling rigs now being used in land operations. They are specifically designed to maintain a maximum draft of 4-1/2 feet or less under all load conditions, eliminating the need for dredging to access shallow or environmentally-sensitive areas. Drilling and work-over assemblies are dimensioned to provide sufficient deck area for normal land-rig layouts and are designed to maintain excellent stability characteristics under all combinations of equipment, pipe and drilling fluid loads. Wellhead access is provided by a drill slot within the assembly for surface completions, or by a “moon pool” for subsurface completions.

A number of standard attachments and accessories are available to augment drilling and service barge assemblies. Ramp units are easily added to basic assemblies to provide drive-on capability for truck-mounted equipment. Raked bow and stern sections can be utilized to minimize current effects and enhance stream navigation. Floating assemblies are positioned and held on location by holding spuds and other anchoring attachments which are designed to resist lateral forces due to wind, current, and on-deck equipment reaction.

Bridge Barge

Barges and drive-on/drive-off ramp attachments can make floating bridges, piers and docks for moving or supporting heavy equipment loads over:

  • Canals and streams
  • Marshlands
  • Lakes, inlets and bays
  • Environmentally-sensitive areas

Deck surfaces of bridge barges can withstand localized loading of up to 5,000 pounds per square foot without damage or distortion. Bottoms of modules are also heavily reinforced so that traffic loads may still be imposed on grounded assemblies. Standard hinge attachments compensate longer spans for fluctuating water levels and minimize hull stress as heavy, concentrated loads move across the deck.

Ferries & Transport Barge

Ferries, lighters, supply barges and other load-transport assemblies are easily constructed with portable Flexifloat modular barges and available attachments. These shallow-draft assemblies are normally propelled by a two-drum wireline system or towed by tug or workboat. These barges provide a simple, quick and economical method of moving all types of construction material, vehicles and heavy equipment across streams, lakes and other limited-access marine areas.

Standard Flexifloat ramp attachments facilitate drive on/off loading of wheeled and tracked vehicles from the transport or ferry.

Hopper Barge

Hopper barges are used to haul material back and forth and are a dredging industry favorite. The dredged silt is loaded into the hopper barge and then hauled to an off-loading area, while dredging.

Dock & Pontoon Barge

Barges sections are becoming very popular for dock usage. You can spud them in place and be used as a dock at marina, boat ramps, and personal use. The are very strong and sturdy they are much stronger than your typical floating dock structure and will last much longer.

Spud Barge

Spud barges are a deck barge or a crane barge that use the spuds to anchor it in place, providing a stable, fixed work platform in the misdle of a lake or river.