Commercial Vessels
If your journey will include major waterways, you will encounter commercial transporters of both goods and passengers. Both danger and photographic opportunity is at hand. On my own first few voyages, I was not properly prepared for either. This section will list most of the vessels and transport lines in the U.S., as of the 2006 reporting year. I "stumbled upon" this downloadable data source at the USACE Navigation Data Center, and thought it would be a worthwhile addition to the site as a matter of interest for your voyages. I find it fun to log the vessel name, company, date and river mile, as well as to take a series of pictures of these magnificient machines. The captains can be a great source of information as well ... use proper radio procedure and you'll have no problems.
Our photo database contains pictures of many these vessels, and Dick's Towboat Gallery contains many more. Both we and he would welcome your photos.
as a matter of interest ....
International Classification of Ships by Type (ICST Codes)
| Code | Type of Vessel |
|---|---|
| 114 | Liquid Oil Tanker (Oil / Chemical) |
| 120 | Liquid Chemical Tanker |
| 139 | Liquid Gas Carrier (Other) |
| 141 | Liquid Tank Barge (Single Hull) |
| 142 | Liquid Tank Barge (Double Hull) |
| 143 | Liquid Tank Barge (Double Sided Only) |
| 144 | Liquid Tank Barge (Double Bottom Only) |
| 149 | Liquid Tank Barge (Other) |
| 199 | Liquid Other Tanker |
| 229 | Dry Bulk (Other) Carrier |
| 310 | Containership (Specialized) |
| 321 | Barge Carrier (Specialized) |
| 325 | Vehicle Carrier (Specialized) |
| 329 | Other Carriers (Specialized) |
| 333 | General Cargo RO-RO / Container |
| 334 | Other RO-RO Cargo (General Cargo) |
| 335 | General Cargo / Passenger |
| 336 | General Cargo / Container |
| 341 | Dry Cargo Deck Barge |
| 343 | Dry Cargo Lash / Seabee Barge |
| 344 | Open Dry Cargo Barge |
| 345 | Dry Cargo Covered Barge |
| 349 | Dry Cargo Other Barge |
| 351 | Passenger (Cruise) |
| 359 | Passenger (Other) ... |
| 422 | Offshore Support Vessel |
| 431 | Tugboat |
| 432 | Pushboat |
Links:
USCG - Vessels By Name
USCG - Vessels By ID
Boat Photo Museum.....Dan Owen
Dick's Towboat Gallery .....Richard Dunbar