River Tow

a river transport unit consisting of a self-propelled vessel and one or several dumb vessels, such as barges. A distinction is made between towed and pushed units, depending on the type of self-propelled vessel used. Some river tows are equipped with devices to force the line of towed or pushed vessels to bend in a turn according to the radius of the ship’s path. River tows have capacities up to 20,000 tons of dry and liquid cargo.