Vessel Pilot

Canal Barge adds 400-foot vessel to fleet. KEY TAKEAWAYS: * * Canal Barge added the new 400-foot Triton deck barge to its fleet. * Conrad Shipyard built the vessel at its Morgan City facility. * Triton will support oversized and heavy project cargo movements in offshore markets. * The barge measures 105 feet wide and has deck strength of 4,200 pounds per square foot. Canal Barge Company has added a new 400-foot deck barge to its fleet, expanding the New Orleans-based marine transportation company's capacity to move oversized and heavy project cargo in offshore markets. The company announced Sept. 30 that it received delivery of the Triton, which was built by Conrad Shipyard in Morgan City. The vessel is designed to support offshore projects and complex cargo movements for industries including power generation, nuclear energy, construction, oil and gas, engineering and government. Canal Barge said the Triton is the newest 400-foot-class deck barge built on the Gulf Coast and the first vessel of its size constructed using Conrad Shipyard's proprietary ring design. The barge measures 400 feet long and 105 feet wide, with a hull height of 25 feet and uniform deck strength of 4,200 pounds per square foot. "Our project cargo work demands flexibility, careful planning and dependable execution," Blake Heflin, Canal Barge vice president of marketing for deck cargo services, said in a statement. "Triton strengthens our ability to deliver customized marine transportation solutions for complex cargo movements, backed by the experience of our project management team and mariners." The addition represents Canal Barge's latest investment in equipment for transporting heavy, oversized and other specialized cargo on inland waterways and in offshore markets. "Triton reflects Canal Barge Company's ongoing commitment to invest in equipment that is in demand by our customers," President and CEO Merritt Lane said. "Our real value is the customized service and solutions we provide that is made possible by the expertise and commitment of our people, supplemented by our well-maintained equipment." Conrad Shipyard built the Triton on a fixed timeline at its Morgan City facility. Conrad Industries, founded in 1948 and headquartered in Morgan City, operates five shipyards in Louisiana and Texas that provide new construction and repair services for commercial and government customers. "We appreciate the trust Canal Barge Company placed in Conrad to build Triton," Conrad Shipyard Senior Vice President Daniel Conrad said. "Our team takes great pride in delivering quality vessels, and we're proud to see this barge enter service and support the marine transportation industry for many years to come." Founded in 1933 and headquartered in New Orleans, Canal Barge is one of the nation's largest privately owned marine transportation companies. It provides marine transportation, logistics, harbor, terminal and management services across inland waterways, the Gulf Coast and offshore markets.

Canal Barge takes delivery of Cabby H. Boone. June 5, 2026 By Shelley Byrne Listen to this Article 0:00 Canal Barge LLC took delivery of the third of four sister vessels April 26 from C&C Marine Repair of Belle Chasse, La., and the word sister is key. President and CEO Merritt Lane said the newest boat, the mv. Cabby H. Boone, is named after his cousin Caroline "Cabby" Huger Boone. The last boat in the series, the mv. Mimsy H. Lindner, is named after her twin sister and is on schedule to be delivered in mid-July, he said. The Huger family includes five sisters, and with the conclusion of this series, all will have boats named after them. The first of the series was the mv. Al Sloss, delivered in December 2025. The vessel honors Alexander "Al" Dimitry Sloss, who was the son of one of the sisters, Elizabeth "Liz" Huger Sloss, namesake of the mv. Liz Sloss, along with her husband Lynes "Poco" Sloss, a former Canal Barge board member. The second vessel, named after another of the sisters, is the mv. Deborah H. Valentine, which was delivered in February. The mv. Sally Lapeyre, named after the oldest of the daughters of Eugenie and Killian L. Huger, a former Canal Barge executive, is a twin-screw, 4,400 hp. vessel built by Steiner Construction that went into service in 2021. The Huger sisters are the granddaughters of Canal Barge founder Joseph Merrick Jones Sr., who started the marine transportation firm in 1933. The Cabby H. Boone, like the three others in the current series, is a twin-screw vessel with Tier 4 Mitsubishi S12R engines each rated at 1,260 hp. at 1,600 rpm., providing a total of 2,520 hp. The boats are the first new construction towboats that C&C Marine and Repair has built for Canal Barge. Mike Stone, Canal Barge's manager of vessel engineering, said the company was looking for versatility in horsepower with the boats, which will be capable of pushing anywhere from one to 12 barges. They can be used to navigate and push tows on both the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the inland river system. He also noted that the vessel class is among the first non-engineered Tier 4 boats operating on the inland waterways. Designed by C&C's in-house engineering team, unique aspects include the fleeting deck at the bow, adjacent to the tow knees, along with barge access ramps installed forward and aft, port and starboard. Laborde Products supplied both the engines and the generator sets, each rated at 99kW, supporting onboard electrical systems. Canal Barge noted that, as the program moves forward, each vessel is built around a shared foundation across propulsion and onboard power, allowing the fleet to operate with a common setup from one vessel to the next. "This setup gives our crews and maintenance teams a more familiar platform from one vessel to the next," said Mark Allen, vice president of asset management and engineering at Canal Barge. "That kind of consistency helps us operate and support these boats more effectively over time." Laborde Products worked closely with C&C Marine and Repair and Canal Barge throughout the construction process. "This is part of a series where everything is tied together from one boat to the next," said Bradley Matte, sales representative at Laborde Products. "The engines and generator sets were selected to match that approach and keep things consistent across the build." Tony Cibilich, president and owner of C&C Marine and Repair, expressed his pleasure with the boat series. "Three boats in and the whole program just keeps getting better," he said. "Little things get picked up along the way, small tweaks here and there. By the third one, the whole thing is running smooth." Vessel Specs The Cabby H. Boone measures 87 by 34 by 11 feet and is open wheel, so it has no kort nozzles. It has a pilothouse eye level of 33 feet, 10 inches. The Tier 4 Mitsubishi S12R engines from Laborde turn two 82-inch by 62-inch four-blade, stainless steel propellers supplied by Kahlenberg. Grid coolers were provided by Fernstrum. Laborde also supplied the 99kW gensets. The boat is equipped with REINTJES WAF 665L reduction gears with a 5.95:1 ratio, supplied by Karl Senner, LLC. Eagle Control Systems provided both the steering and engine alarm systems. Electronics and communications equipment are from GMENI Marine Electronics and Supply. Lemoine Marine Refrigeration provided the air conditioning and heating. Fire safety equipment is from Hiller. Wastewater treatment is from Seahorse MFR, provided by Disalvo Marine. Sound and vibration damping is courtesy of a soft-core joiner system with Vulkan resilient mounts for the main engines. Fendering was provided by Schuyler Maritime, and paint and coatings supplied by Hempel. The Cabby H. Boone can hold 32,000 gallons of fuel and 7,300 gallons of potable water. Crew quarters include three two-man rooms and two one-man staterooms, along with a lounge. Interiors were completed by Kern Martin Services. On deck are two 40-ton deck winches supplied by Wintech. Featured photo caption: The Cabby H. Boone is the third of a four-boat series for Canal Barge from C&C Marine Repair. It was delivered April 26. The boat's namesake is Caroline "Cabby" Huger Boone. (Photo courtesy of Canal Barge)