Sometimes limited options produce unusual solutions. This was the case when Barnhart was hired to perform the turnkey transport of a caster bow from a fabricating shop in Sparrows Point, MD to the customer's steel facility in Burns Harbor, IN. The massive cargo included the bow, measuring 30' x 17' x 21', weighing 520,000 lbs., and ladle test weight at 20' x 11' x 13', 570,000 lbs. The cargo was too tall to transport over road or rail leaving barge transport as the only option. While the St. Lawrence Seaway was an option, the most efficient and cost effective path was actually a longer route. Barnhart's solution was to use an oceangoing deck barge from Sparrow's Point all the way around Florida to the Port of Mobile. There, the caster bow was loaded onto a hopper barge by Barnhart's 400 ton barge crane known as "Big Al."
Since port cranes at Burns Harbor could not handle the weight, another transload was made by the Barnhart TC3000 at the Port of Chicago returning the cargo to a deck barge for roll-off. This solution required extensive coordination between the Mobile and Chicago branches as well as the management of multiple subcontractors.
Barnhart's positioning on the Gulf Coast and Great Lakes allowed the necessary cargo transfers to barge south around Florida and up through the river system, which ultimately saved the customer money.