National Waterways Foundation Brochure

Inland waterways are the 25,000 miles of rivers, lakes, bays, and manmade channels that wind their way through 38 states. Within these waterways, powerful vessels called towboats push barges that transport essential energy, agricultural, and other critical commodities for delivery across the nation and around the world.

The people that work on these vessels are essential to the nation’s supply chain and make a difference every day by transporting more than $73 billion of products every year.

Inland waterways workers typically work on towboats that move either dry or liquid cargo. There are a variety of jobs that are required to keep a towboat operating efficiently and safely, including working with the cargo, ensuring the boat is maintained and clean, and of course, navigating and piloting the vessel.

Dedicated and hard-working employees can experience rapid advancement based on merit and training, which many companies pay for. Industry experts often point out that jobs in the inland waterways will not be replaced with artificial intelligence, since experienced crewmembers are needed to handle the wide range of factors and variables that occur while working on boats …

Read the full brochure here! Collaborated effort with Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center and National Waterways Foundation.