Showing off McClellan-Kerr Waterway

  • October 25, 2018

A little P-R effort will be undertaken Friday in an effort to show off the state’s major waterway system in eastern Oklahoma.

The Tulsa Port and the Port of Muskogee are joining together to host elected officials for a luncheon and barge excursion. 
 
Local, state and federal officials, as well as other area business leaders will join the Tulsa and Muskogee Ports’ staff for an Oklahoma Waterways update and a barge ride on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.
The ride on a barge will begin at the Port of Catoosa.
 
When: Friday, October 26 from 
            11 a.m. – 2 p.m. 
 
11:15 – 12:30 Luncheon (hear from speakers about an update on Oklahoma Waterways)
12:30 – 12:45 Break (great time to interview attendees)
12:50 – 1:50 Barge excursion 
 The Tulsa Port is head of navigation for the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System running from Tulsa to the Mississippi River.
The Port of Catoosa is a singular combination of a multi-modal shipping complex and 2,000-acre industrial park resulting in an annual economic impact of $300 million to Oklahoma. The complex hosts roughly 71 companies and employs over 3,200 Oklahomans.

One of the many types of commodities shipped on the waterway and through the Tulsa Port is something called project cargo. Project cargo is large, heavy, over-sized, high value or critical pieces of equipment. These types of products are manufactured by many companies in Northeast Oklahoma and the surrounding states. Using the river system and the Tulsa Port is vital to the success and profitability of these manufacturers. During the last three years, over seventeen thousand tons of project cargo, equipment like cracking towers and heaters for refineries, have moved through the Tulsa Port’s low water wharf.

The port’s main dock has a modern, 200-ton traveling crane that can handle the majority of standard barge cargo needs. However, project cargo equipment is often so large or heavy that it exceeds the crane’s capability. That’s when the Port’s low water wharf is used. There is no cargo too big or too heavy for the Tulsa Port because of the Port’s “Ro/Ro,” (Roll on, Roll off) or Low Water Wharf. This asset allows for heavy shipments to be moved directly on to, or off of deck barges, allowing access to the river system for the largest and heaviest project cargo.

In  August, Barnhart,  one of the largest heavy lift and heavy transportation operations in the nation used the Port’s “Ro/Ro” to ship three pieces of equipment for a refinery in Beaumont, Texas. The equipment was built in Tulsa by Heater Specialist of Tulsa LLC.  It had a combined weight of 570,000 pounds.

 

 

Jerry Bohnen