10.11.22

Vancouver WA-Based Shipping Company Awarded $4.1M DOT Grant for New Dock Crane

Cantwell: Investment will help move an additional 3,000 shipping containers per year via waterways, instead of congested roadways

VANCOUVER, WASH. – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that Vancouver-based shipping company Tidewater Barge Line is receiving a $4,168,759 grant to purchase a dock crane, expanding the region’s capacity to transport freight and waste on the Columbia River while reducing carbon emissions.

“Getting freight traffic off of our roads and onto our waterways means less traffic, fewer accidents, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA). “This $4.1 million investment will allow an additional 3,000 containers per year to travel via barge across the Columbia -- containers that are currently moved by truck on our congested roadways.”

The DOT awarded the funds through its America's Marine Highways grant program. Sen. Cantwell, who serves as chair of the Senate Committee on Science, Commerce and Transportation, wrote a letter of support to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in August advocating for expanding barge service along the Columbia River between Tidewater's terminal in Vancouver, Wash., and the Port of Morrow in Boardman, Ore.

“This award will allow Tidewater to barge thousands of additional containers that would otherwise be trucked along the region’s congested highway system,” said Todd Busch, Tidewater President and CEO. “This federal investment will help meet regional transportation demands and reduce emissions by supporting new clean technology to expand our barge service, which is the cleanest, safest, and most fuel-efficient form of transportation. I would like to thank Senator Cantwell and the rest of the congressional delegation for all their work to make this project a reality.”

This grant award will allow Tidewater to be more efficient and expand its barge service for containers of solid waste by 3,000 additional containers per year. Adding the new dock crane will improve Tidewater's ability to load, unload, and barge containerized shipments and achieve significant emissions reductions. The grant will also help the company purchase a new crawler crane.

In the future, the new cranes will additionally help Tidewater compete for “high, wide, and heavy” freight such as wind turbine parts. Currently, oversized cargo from Asia headed for the inland NW is shipped by road -- causing traffic delays -- or through the Panama Canal to Houston and then up to the inland Northwest by rail. Tidewater, which operates the largest barge transportation and terminal network on the Columbia-Snake River System, is part of a consortium aiming to use the Columbia River for such shipping.

The DOT’s United States Maritime Administration oversees America’s Marine Highway Grant Program. The program aims to expand the use of America's navigable waters, partnering with public and private entities to incentivize shipping via waterway.

###