Osprey Line completes record waterway move

Osprey Line completes record waterway move

   Osprey Line said it has completed a shipment of 15 barges loaded with containers that the company is billing as the largest single unit tow container movement in the history of the U.S. Inland Waterway System.

   Osprey said it moved 750 TEUs of agricultural products from Memphis to New Orleans and Houston. Osprey said it worked with six deep-sea steamship lines to move the cargo to the two Gulf Coast ports for export on container vessels.

   Osprey noted the move equaled the capacity of some oceangoing vessels sailing from Gulf ports, and was several times larger than the majority of vessels deployed in the short-sea shipping trade in Europe.

   Osprey Line vice president Christian O'Neil said the record move shows the potential of the Inland Waterway System.

   'The service is a great alternative to truck and rail on routes along the Inland Waterway System and the Gulf of Mexico,' he said. 'The U.S. Inland Waterway System is an amazing resource that can readily be used to alleviate congestion along existing rail and highway corridors.'

   He added that when his company's inland services are combined with its Gulf coastal services, they can provide all-water service from the U.S. heartland to connect with ports like New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston, and Tampa.