New barge has series of spaced 12-inch pedestals to spread out the weight-bearing areas.
Although open hopper barges have been used to carry containers for years, they are not specifically designed for them. According to the Transport Information Service, “If the container is loaded to its maximum capacity, the weight of the cargo must be distributed as evenly as possible over the floor area. The load-carrying components of the [normal barge] … floor structure are the bottom side rails, which absorb the load of a cargo via the container floor. For safe transport, it is important for as many as possible of the bottom rails to be loaded. Point loads are to be avoided, since they can damage the container floor. Point loads always occur when relatively high weights are concentrated on a small bearing area.”