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for us to Þ nally jump into the tank barge market. It will not only allow us to offer our customers a more complete range of services, it will be a good way for us to diversify our revenue stream.Ó TodayÕs AEP River OperationsÕ barge ß eet primary routes are Chicago to New Orleans and Pitts- burgh to New Orleans including all points in between. The majority of their open hopper ß eet moves tonnage on the Ohio River and its tributaries along with some move- ment to New Orleans. Due to the harsh winter weather, says AEP, its combined ß eets are booked to capacity for the immediate future. AEP deÞ nes Òfull capacityÓ as meaning that their barge ß eet has frequent multiple opportunities to move tonnage for shippers, versus only one option or no bid interest at all. On the new, tank barge side of the equa- tion, the Þ rst liquid loading for AEP River Operations was a load of ethanol from St. Louis, MO to Vicksburg, MS. Up until now, AEP River Operations moved only bulk cargoes such grain and grain products for all of the major grain exporters as well as coal for most of the major coal producers in the U.S. Additionally, they transport steel and raw materials for steel making, with salt, petroleum coke, limestone, and cement rounding out their capabili- ties. That line-up is about to widen. AEP expects to oper- ate its new ß eet of 20 tank barges in both the day rate and point-to-point markets. The 20 barges being delivered will not have heating coils and AEP expects to focus on the carriages of chemicals. State-of-the-ArtJeffBoat is building all of the tank barges for AEP. And yet, AEP has its own shipyard, as well. AEP Belle Chasse shipyard is an 11 acre facility has 1,100 feet of waterfront equipped with seven dry docks ranging from 1,200 to 2,700 tons and includes a full-service machine shop. That yard is busy enough on its own, having recently completed several major repowers to Tier 3 engines on vessels ranging up to 6000 hp. That said, the vast majority of AEPÕs barge ß eet, which totals some 1,000 open and 2,000 covered hopper barges, was built at Jeffboat, Darling said. ÒWe have a very good, longstanding relationship with them. Their workmanship is excellent, as is the ongoing support and service from the Jeffboat team.Ó Like most things at AEP, the new tank barges will meet and more than exceed applicable safety and equipment standards on the water today. Beyond the Tier III John INLAND TRANSPORTATION www.marinelink.com MN 33MN April14 Layout 32-49.indd 33MN April14 Layout 32-49.indd 333/21/2014 11:12:28 AM3/21/2014 11:12:28 AM
