Bureau Veritas leads the way on dry cargo barge convoys 

Bureau Veritas is currently busy classifying more than two-hundred dry cargo barges operated in the huge Parana and Paraguay basin by Louis Dreyfus Co and Hidrovias do Brasil.

These barges form part of the impressive convoys which are pushed upstream to Brazil and even to Bolivia, as well as downstream to Argentina and Uruguay. The pushers are not yet classed by Bureau Veritas but are under survey to be recorded in the BV inland navigation register.

Apart from the traditional benefits of classification, such as those associated with safety, reliability, ship value, and flag administrations relationships, owners also gain a strong advantage with regard to charterers’ policies, which tend to be more demanding in terms of quality, health, safety, and environment.

Bureau Veritas has extensive experience of post-construction classification, and its procedures provide flexibility to cater for each vessel’s history (shipyard, original classification, age, maintenance, previous survey reports, logbook, areas of operation, etc.) and available documents (drawings, previous classification certificates, certificates of inspection, statements of compliance, statutory certificates, etc.). The review and survey schedule can be optimized in light of each individual vessel’s condition