A tug and barge company plans to base a quarter-acre-sized floating dock at the Port of Kalama to help it move grain more efficiently to the EGT and Kalama Export Co. grain terminals on the Columbia River.
The floating dock is known as a spud barge because it is anchored in place by steel pipes — spuds — that are dropped vertically into the river bed. It will be used as a kind of depot to tie up grain barges and save travel time to Vancouver to pick up fresh loads, Carol Bua, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver-based Tidewater tug and barge firm, said Tuesday.