# Barge tracking software for inland waterway operators who need the fleet in one picture

> Inland waterway barge transport is the movement of bulk cargo on rivers and canals by unpowered barges pushed in a tow by a towing vessel. A standard dry cargo hopper runs roughly 195 feet by 35 feet and carries about 1,500 tons, and a towboat may push 15 or more at once through chambers measuring 600 feet by 110 feet. Neurobird holds barge position, commodity, status and the timestamps that freight and demurrage turn on.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/bargeops/
- Product: Neurobird Barge Inland Waterway Audit Platform
- Niche: barge inland waterway
- Buyer: barge line operators and inland towing companies
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-21

## What Neurobird Barge Inland Waterway does

- Track every barge by position, commodity, draft and status without calling the fleet
- Record the timestamps that freight and demurrage actually turn on
- Keep vessel certificates, survey dates and Subchapter M records visible from the office
- Rebuild a tow on paper before the boat rebuilds it on the river

## How it works

1. **Track the hull, not the tow** Every barge carries its own record: commodity, tons, draft, position and status. Tows are assembled from hulls, not the other way round.
2. **Record the timestamps once** Arrival, loaded, made into tow, delivered and released are captured at the event, so freight and demurrage are calculated rather than reconstructed.
3. **Keep the vessel file visible** Certificates of inspection, survey dates and Subchapter M records live where the office can see them, not in a binder 400 miles downriver.

## From the source material

> July 7, 2020 Inland and Intracoastal Waterways: Primer and Issues for Congress The federal government improves and maintains a system of 12,000 miles of inland and intracoastal waterways with over 200 lock and dam chambers.

Source: congress.gov, https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/PDF/IF11593/IF11593.1.pdf

## Industry context

- **136 to 144** Subchapter M, the Coast Guard towing vessel inspection regime, spans 46 CFR Parts 136 through 144 and sets certification, safety management and recordkeeping duties. (source: eCFR, 46 CFR Subchapter M, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-46/chapter-I/subchapter-M)
- **Part 136** Certification requirements, including the certificate of inspection every inspected towing vessel must carry and keep current. (source: eCFR, 46 CFR Part 136, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-46/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-136)
- **Part 140** Operations requirements: watchstanding, navigation safety and the vessel records a towing vessel has to produce on demand. (source: eCFR, 46 CFR Part 140, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-46/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-140)
- **Part 138** Towing safety management system requirements, the alternative to annual Coast Guard inspection and the reason third party audits appear on the calendar. (source: eCFR, 46 CFR Part 138, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-46/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-138)
- **33 CFR 207** Navigation regulations for locks and dams on the inland system, including how lockages are ordered and how traffic is sequenced. (source: eCFR, 33 CFR Part 207, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/chapter-II/part-207)

## Pricing

- Single fleet: $9 per barge, per month
- Line operator: $18 per barge, per month
- Multi river: $34 per barge, per month

## Questions

### What is inland waterway barge transport?

Inland waterway barge transport is the movement of bulk cargo on rivers and canals by unpowered barges pushed in a tow by a towing vessel. A standard dry cargo hopper barge runs about 195 feet by 35 feet and carries roughly 1,500 tons, and a single towboat may push 15 or more of them at once.

### What is Subchapter M?

Subchapter M is the Coast Guard inspection regime for towing vessels at 46 CFR Parts 136 through 144. It requires a certificate of inspection and either annual Coast Guard inspection or an approved towing safety management system audited by a third party, with vessel records kept current and available.

### Why do locks matter so much to scheduling?

Because chamber size sets the shape of the day. A typical main chamber on the inland system is 600 feet by 110 feet, so a 15 barge tow has to be broken and double locked, and a queue at a single lock reorders every delivery behind it.

### What timestamps actually drive money on a barge move?

Arrival at the loading dock, completion of loading, made into tow, arrival at destination, and release. Freight, demurrage and barge hire all key off those, and they are the ones most often recorded late or not at all.

### Does this replace our accounting or ETA system?

No. It holds the operational truth: barge position, commodity, draft, status and timestamps. Whatever you use for invoicing reads from it rather than being retyped into.

## Sources

- [46 CFR Subchapter M, towing vessels](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-46/chapter-I/subchapter-M)
- [46 CFR Part 140, operations](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-46/chapter-I/subchapter-M/part-140)
- [33 CFR Part 207, navigation regulations](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/chapter-II/part-207)
- [Federal Register, Coast Guard](https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/coast-guard)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/