The old saying “he who rules the seas rules the world” is still relevant today. National and global interests — for America, in particular — are inextricably linked to the seas.
The members of the American Waterways Operators, the national trade association representing the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, elected a new slate of leaders during AWO’s Spring Convention recently held in Washington, D.C. Buckley McAllister, President, McAllister Towing, was elected as Chairman and Frank Morton, Director, Turn Services, LLC was elected as Vice Chairman.
The United States was the world’s dominant shipbuilder half a century ago. But like flat-screen televisions, photovoltaics, wind energy, advanced batteries and scores of other formerly American-developed and -led sectors, shipbuilding is now centered in Asia.
Out of sight, out of mind. That pretty well sums up the layperson's view of the country's extensive inland waterways system, an efficient, environmentally friendly network of rivers, locks and canals that moves our huge fleet of floating pack mules, aka barges, powered by towboats.
