Heavy Marine Transportation, Float Freight & Break Bulk
Moving oversized cargo over water is one of DLS's core specialties. When a load exceeds conventional highway limits, DLS moves it by water — with crane barges, deck barges, tugboats and engineered transport solutions, operating from our 35-acre yard at the Port of West St. Mary on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
What we move:
- Launch hardware
- Aerospace components
- Industrial modules
- Pressure vessels
- Structural steel
- Fabricated assemblies
- Transformers
- Power generation components
- Heavy equipment
- Manufacturing equipment
- Break bulk cargo
- Super loads
How a move works:
Our team manages every phase of transportation: engineering support, load securement, marine logistics planning, permitting assistance, and coordinated deliveries. Break bulk terminal and port support is available at both ends of the move — cargo transfer, heavy lift loading and unloading, material staging and marshaling.
Equipment we bring:
Crane barges Big Thunder, Big Ort, Splash and Little Lightening; seven tugboats; deck and material barges; rigging and lifting equipment — all based at the Port of West St. Mary.
Safety on every move:
Every transport runs under engineered load plans, qualified operators and riggers, and DLS's behavior-based safety program — zero recordable incidents since 2018.
Can DLS move cargo that exceeds highway limits?
Yes. DLS specializes in float freight — moving oversized and overweight cargo by water when it exceeds conventional highway transportation limits — using its own crane barges, deck barges and tugboats based at the Port of West St. Mary, with engineered load plans for every move.
What waterways can DLS transport cargo on?
DLS transports cargo on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the Mississippi River, the Atchafalaya Basin and connecting Gulf Coast inland waterways, with offshore support available — reaching terminals, plants and job sites across Louisiana, Texas and the wider Gulf Coast.
Does DLS handle the transport engineering?
Yes. DLS manages every phase of a heavy marine move — engineering support, load securement, marine logistics planning, permitting assistance and coordinated delivery — so one contractor is accountable from load-out to final set.