LaycanDeskDeck Cargo Barge & Tug Chartering
Flat-top barges, LCTs and tugs for project modules, equipment and coastal cargo in the Gulf and Southeast Asia. Flat-top deck cargo barges of 3,000 to 12,000 dwt, LCTs and tugs, fixed bareboat or with tug for project modules, plant, vehicles and coastal cargo in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea and Southeast Asia.
A flat-top deck cargo barge is the simplest ship in the fleet and, for some cargo, the only one: modules, pre-assembled plant, cranes, vehicles and equipment that are rolled or lifted onto an open deck rated at 10 to 20 tonnes per square metre and lashed for a coastal tow. Barges of 3,000 to 12,000 dwt with decks of 60 to 100 metres are towed by 2,000 to 5,000 BHP tugs, and the same combination moves aggregates, coal and coastal cargo between ports with no berth at all. Landing craft (LCTs) add a bow ramp for beach and jetty discharge of vehicles and equipment.
Barge business is fixed on the deck area and strength, the tow arrangement and the rate basis: bareboat, where the charterer supplies the tug, or with tug on a day rate or lumpsum for the move. When an operator sends us a module or plant move we ask for the footprint and weight of each piece and the load and discharge arrangements, then go to owners with a cargo they can price. On the tonnage side we hold barge and tug positions in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Malaysia and put them against project and coastal enquiries.
Cargoes
- Project modules and pre-assembled plant
- Cranes, vehicles and construction equipment
- Aggregates and coal by barge
- Transhipment at anchorage
- Beach and jetty landings by LCT
Lanes we work
- Arabian Gulf and Red Sea coastal moves
- Indonesian inter-island and transhipment
- Malaysia and Singapore project moves
- East Africa coastal
Questions charterers and owners ask
Bareboat or with tug: which should I ask for?
Bareboat if you already have a tug and crew; with tug if you want the owner to deliver the cargo. Most one-off project moves are fixed with tug on a lumpsum for the voyage; longer programmes are often bareboat on a day rate. Tell us which and we quote on that basis.
What decides whether a barge can take my cargo?
Deck strength in tonnes per square metre against the footprint of the heaviest piece, deck area against the whole load, and the sea passage against the barge's class and freeboard. Send the piece list with footprints and weights and we check it against the barges on the board before anything is offered.
Do you fix transhipment barges?
Yes. Coal and aggregate transhipment at anchorage, for example off Sumatra or in Indonesian inter-island trades, runs on 300-foot barges with tugs on a tonnage or day-rate basis. Send the quantity, the anchorage and the loading arrangement.
Which barge positions do you take?
Flat-top barges, LCTs and tugs open in the Gulf, the Red Sea, Indonesia and Malaysia. Reference, dimensions, deck strength, class, flag, position and rate basis to desk-a005f1@in.laycandesk.com.