Pharmaceutical Tanks Arrive By Barge In Indiana

Indiana River & Rail Terminals recently managed the barge-to-truck transloading of specialized tanks at Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon.

The two, 51-ton specialized tanks were built in the Houston, Texas, region and are bound for a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility under construction in Lebanon, Ind., according to Ports of Indiana.

The port pointed out that because the tanks measure 44 by 18 feet, overland shipping was financially and logistically impractical, so the company’s transportation provider, Barnhart, arranged for barge shipment to the port. From there, the tanks were braced and loaded into a standard 194-by-35-foot barge to move from Texas to Mount Vernon via the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Upon arrival, they were loaded onto heavy haul trucks for the final leg of the journey.

“Our team utilized the same expertise, operational skill and care for transloading this cargo that they do for every customer, no matter the commodity,” said Shane Davenport, terminal manager for Indiana River & Rail Terminals. “However, we took some extra pride from this, knowing that this equipment will aide in creating medications that can improve thousands of lives for many years to come.”

Established in 2024, Indiana River & Rail Terminals is a joint venture between Ports of Indiana and Superior River Terminals Indiana, a general cargo stevedore operating at Ports of Indiana’s Mount Vernon and Jeffersonville facilities. It is the largest general cargo operation on the Ohio River, according to Ports of Indiana, handling steel, project cargo and a variety of breakbulk commodities.

“Barnhart chose Indiana River & Rail at Ports of Indiana-Jeffersonville to handle Lebanon-bound materials earlier this year, and we’re very happy to have Mount Vernon’s heavy-duty capabilities play a role in this historic expansion of Indiana’s pharmaceutical industry,” said Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon Port Director Jason May. “Indiana River & Rail Terminals has quickly built a reputation for safe, reliable and efficient logistics management across the full spectrum of commodities for Fortune 500 and family-owned small businesses alike, and we’re proud to serve so many Indiana job-creators while growing the state’s economy.”