towboats
River hauling vessels
Towboats are powerful vessels designed to push or pull barges and other watercraft, particularly on rivers and inland waterways.
Despite the name, most towboats actually push their loads from behind rather than towing them, with flat bows built for nudging barges into position.
They're essential to commercial shipping on major river systems like the Mississippi, where a single towboat might push dozens of barges lashed together.
The towboat guided fifteen grain barges downstream.
Vessels that push ships
- bargesFlat-hulled freight vessels
- riverboatsVessels for inland waters
- workboatsVessels for maritime labor
- flatboatsShallow-hulled river vessels
Southern state or major river
- Ohio RiverMidwestern waterway to Mississippi
- Missouri RiverMajor central waterway
- inland waterwaysNavigable rivers and canals
- canalsConstructed water passages
locks · dams · river channels · harbors · ports · Rhine · Danube · Yangtze
One who commands
- pilotOne who steers aircraft
- deckhandShip's manual laborer
- engineerTechnical design professional
- matePartner or companion
wheelhouse · watch · crew quarters · galley · pilothouse · steersman · oiler · cook
Drum-and-cable lifting devices
- capstansVertical rotating hoisting drums
- hawsersThick nautical ropes
- fendersVehicle splash protectors
- searchlightsPowerful directed illumination devices
radar · engines · propellers · rudders · wheelhouse · rigging · cables · cleats
Applying force to move
- maneuveringSkillful directional control
- lockingFixing firmly in position
- dockingConnecting to a port
- fleetingPassing very quickly
coupling · decoupling · navigating · steering · throttling · positioning · berthing · mooring
Flat-hulled freight vessels
- coalCombustible sedimentary rock
- grainCereal plant's harvest unit
- petroleumNatural underground hydrocarbon liquid
- chemicalsManufactured or isolated substances
aggregates · steel · containers · bulk cargo · commodities · freight · ore · fertilizer
tugboats
Vessels that push ships
- bargesFlat-hulled freight vessels
- riverboatsVessels for inland waters
- workboatsVessels for maritime labor
flatboats · lighters · scows · pontoons · dredges · floats · keelboats
Mississippi
Southern state or major river
- Ohio RiverMidwestern waterway to Mississippi
- Missouri RiverMajor central waterway
- inland waterwaysNavigable rivers and canals
canals · locks · dams · river channels · harbors · ports · Rhine · Danube · Yangtze · Amazon
captain
One who commands
mate · wheelhouse · watch · crew quarters · galley · pilothouse · steersman · oiler · cook · linesmen
winches
Drum-and-cable lifting devices
searchlights · radar · engines · propellers · rudders · wheelhouse · rigging · cables · cleats · bumpers
pushing
Applying force to move
- maneuveringSkillful directional control
- lockingFixing firmly in position
- dockingConnecting to a port
fleeting · coupling · decoupling · navigating · steering · throttling · positioning · berthing · mooring · warping
barges
Flat-hulled freight vessels
- coalCombustible sedimentary rock
- grainCereal plant's harvest unit
- petroleumNatural underground hydrocarbon liquid
chemicals · aggregates · steel · containers · bulk cargo · commodities · freight · ore · fertilizer · sand
- Mississippi RiverItasca, levee, riverboats, steamboat, paddle wheelers
- inland shippingcanal barges, barges, waterways, river traffic, river ferries
- river navigationriver traffic, lock gate, river barge, river locks, river depth
- Gulf SouthNew Orleans, Louisiana Purchase, LSU, Mardi Gras, jazz
- Ohio ValleyCincinnati, Louisville, Wheeling, Pittsburgh, Evansville
- Gulf Coast Infrastructurelevees, locks, floodwalls, spillways, flood gates
towboatsbarges
Flat-hulled freight vessels
lighters · scows · pontoons · floating docks · rafts
towboatsocean liners
Large passenger vessels
cargo ships · container ships · supertankers · freighters · tankers
towboatscruise ships
Seagoing pleasure vessels
yachts · pleasure boats · ferries · houseboats · sailboats