Barge industry agrees to safety measures

Barge industry agrees to safety measures    The barge industry is taking new and additional voluntary precautions for safe transit on the inland waterways during the unprecedented flooding on the Mississippi River and other inland waterways.
   American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association for the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, said that following consultations with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers, it has agreed to heightened safety practices.
   These practices include:
   ' Using assist tugboats to navigate through especially challenging areas.
   ' Reducing the number of barges in each tow to no more than 20.
   ' Following newly designated channels in certain areas of the Mississippi River.
   ' Working with local officials to keep towboats and barges away from vulnerable levees.
   Additionally, at certain times tows have proceeded in a single file through certain channels in the river.