WHAT WE DO


Founded in 1985, St. James Stevedoring is a leader in innovation and a major force in mid-stream stevedoring on the Mississippi River. With six midstream buoy ship mooring locations between the New Orleans Airport (Mile 122) and the Sunshine Bridge (Mile 167), St. James’ operations overlay the primary grain loading area for the United States. This puts you and your cargo at the nexus of ocean and inland waterway transportation services. From points as varied as Pittsburgh, Chicago, Minneapolis, Nashville, and Brownsville, the water system is by far the most energy-efficient system of cost-effectively moving goods available.

 

In addition to dry bulk stevedoring, St. James provides lift operations and stevedoring labor services along the Gulf Coast.  Some recent accomplishments of St. James include

  • Assistance to Gottwald Port Technologies in assembly of mobile harbor cranes
  • Lifting a roadway bridge at Zen-noh Grain Elevator
  • Positioning ship hatch for grain vessel
  • Delivery of ship anchor 
  • Operation of discharge system for a major fertilizer facility
  • Assistance in the construction of  Yara North America, Union Terminal with heavy lifts and construction activity 
  • Handling of over-sized steel pipe cargo
  • Unloading of bauxite to a major alumina facility in Corpus Christi, Texas
  • Assistance to coal terminals and barge lines during recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav

Innovation, Communications, Speed… the foundational building blocks of St. James Stevedoring.

At St. James, we are changing the face of stevedoring. We are constantly striving to improve the process and injecting innovation at every possible point. St. James focuses on our 328 Feet of Service. We are re-thinking every aspect of the stevedoring process using statistical measurement and results analysis to drive improvements. From leading the way with the development and operation of the first ever high-capacity Gottwald HPK  floating crane, to the invention of products such as our Handheld Drafting Tool, Real Time Barge Drafting, and the launch of Harbor Telematics, our crane data solution, we’re a company that is focused on delivering the best service at the best value to our customers.


As a result of our drive and determination to deliver the best value to our customers, we’re reshaping the market and raising the bar of what you will expect from your stevedore.

See this article featured in Coal Age Magazine about mid-streaming: http://www.coalage.com/index.php/features/996-midstream-loadingan-alternative-way-of-loading-coal-vessels.html


 

The Birth of the Mid-Stream Buoy System

 

In the early 1980’s Mr. Gil Chatagnier, now President of Lanier and Associates Consulting Engineers ( www.lanier-engineers.com ) was instrumental in designing the midstream buoy systems which have become ubiquitous on the lower Mississippi River as the most efficient way to transfer cargo between barges and ships.   In fact most of the midstream mooring systems currently in operation on the river were designed by Gil.

  Gil recently provided us with a copy of an article he authored for “Ports 83” in 1983, describing the design and construction of midstream mooring facilities.  While the cost data and crane size and production rates have changed greatly in the past 28 years – Gil’s basic design remains the standard.  We are indebted to Gil and Lanier and Associates for permitting us to reproduce the article below. 
Ports83v3.pdf