Our Mighty Tugs and Massive Barges
​They haul about five percent of our nation’s bulk tonnage.

Modern commercial vessels on the Mississippi are a far cry from Huck Finn’s makeshift raft. Today, our nation’s river serves as a superhighway of commerce.

A single barge can carry the equivalent of 15 railcars. Guiding these behemoths in and out of ports or narrow locks is no easy task. It calls for the agility and muscle of a mighty towboat. Albeit humble looking, they’re ingenious pieces of nautical machinery. One of these sturdy vessels can push, pull and maneuver a “tow” of barges 105 feet wide, 1,000 feet long (more than three football fields) and more than 50 times its own weight, all while navigating the turns, currents, and heavy traffic of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. 

Imagine the daunting task of these tiny tugs threading 15 barges into a lock from a vantage point a block away. Consider the fact that our locks are 110 feet wide, allowing for only 2½ feet to play with on each side. Scars of missed entries in the past are evident at every lock.

​Steering the colossus of barges down our winding rivers is a bit tricky since it can take up to a mile to kill the momentum once you’ve built it. It was during a late September paddle in 2018 where I watched a tug operator struggle moving his six barges up the river. Needing to use the entire river’s width, it took out a large tree and cracked several thick branches of another with ease. 

If I hadn’t stopped at the bend before where this barge met the river’s bank, I might have gotten caught between the two. The result would have been tragic.  
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 These mighty tugs and their operators are impressive. They’re worthy of our respect and space.