McDonough Marine Service announced this week it had acquired 23 barges from Houma, La.-based J.R. Gray Inc. in an all cash buyout. The purchase is made up of 14 power winch spud barges ranging in size from 140’x55′ to 120’x30′, four 195’x35′ material deck barges, and five 24′ x10′ truckable work float barges.
“The purchase of this portion of the J.R. Gray assets is a great supplement to McDonough’s more than 600 barge fleet,” Pat Stant, McDonough Marine president, said in a statement. “The company’s spud barges made this purchase most attractive. This acquisition will bring our power winch spud barge fleet to 54 vessels, providing more market capacity to service our clients. Additionally, the proximity of the vessels to our core operating locations allowed ease of transition into our existing client base.”
Founded in 1945, McDonough Marine Service is a third generation, family-owned, barge leasing and cargo transportation company based in New Orleans, with offices in Houston and Norfolk, Va. The company is the largest deck barge chartering company in the U.S. with 17 barge fleeting locations on the Gulf Coast, East Coast and Upper Mississippi River, company officials said. The 600-plus barge operating fleet consists of deck, spud, winch spud, aggregate, open hopper and shale waste barges of diverse lengths and widths. McDonough also owns two inland tugboats servicing the project cargo market, as well as truckable tugs for bare lease.
