Girardeau Stevedores and Contractors, Inc.

Girardeau Stevedores and Contractors, Inc., operates the public cargo dock at Semo Port. In addition to terminal operations, they provide rigging, storage, warehousing, trucking, and marine construction.

The public cargo dock, constructed of steel pilings, is 350 feet along the harbor and 220 feet wide. The harbor side of the dock has heavy-duty concrete pavement. Two barges can be worked at once.

GSC has an extensive inventory of equipment available for terminal work. Cranes include a 110-ton 61B crane, two 60-ton cranes (30B tracked and 30B wagon), and a 180-ton Demag. Two boom trucks, expandable to 80 feet, are available. Complete rigging is available for the cranes, including spreader bars. Each crane can be fitted with a clam shell for bulk barge unloading. Truck hoppers are used with the clamshells for efficient truck loading. Lighting is available for night operation.

Trucking equipment includes straight dumps, semi-dump trailers, low boy trailers, drop deck trailers, vans, and flatbeds. GSC has bulldozers, end loaders, forklifts, rubber-tired loaders with forks and buckets, backhoes, excavators, scraper loaders, a road grader, and two deck barges for terminal and construction work. Marine construction capabilities include pile driving, dolphins, conveyors, docks and midstream transfer.

GSC's facilities consist of a 10,000 sf warehouse (rail and truck docks), a 28,000 sf dry bulk storage warehouse (10 bays, each holding a bargeload of material), and outdoor storage. Semo Port Railroad has a spur serving the dock and warehouses. A truck scale and repair garage is located at the terminal.

Dry bulk commodities handled include dry fertilizers, petroleum coke, coal, road salt, and ferrous sulfate (bulk, 2700 lb supersacks, palletized 50 lb bags). General cargo commodities include hardwood lumber, coiled steel, pipe, aluminum, construction equipment, and containers.

GSC was founded in 1982 by Lanny and Marilyn Koch. In 1990, they became operators of Semo Port's new Public Terminal Facility and general cargo dock. They also operate the dock facility at Missouri Dry Dock in Cape Girardeau MO.