River

Semo Port is located on the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau, MO, at Scott City, MO. It is midway between St. Louis and Memphis. Facilities are located on the river and on the Port’s slackwater harbor.

Mississippi River. Semo Port is located at Mile 48 on the Upper Mississippi River, which is 48 miles upstream from Cairo, IL, (Ohio River) and 147 miles downstream from St. Louis (Illinois River and Missouri River). The Corps of Engineers maintains a minimum channel depth of nine feet, but barges can be loaded to twelve feet as river stages allow.

Semo Port Harbor. Semo Port’s slackwater harbor was completed in 1988. The general cargo dock (350′ x 220′) followed in 1990. The harbor is 1800 feet long by 230 feet wide (at its bottom). The harbor is designed to maintain the same depth of water as the navigation channel in the Mississippi River itself. The harbor is dredged by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of the agreement under which the harbor was built.

The 230-foot width of the harbor consists of: (a) berthing area 40′ wide, for parking barges along the north shore; (b) navigation channel, 130′ wide; and (c) berthing area 60′ wide, for parking barges along the south shore.

The design bottom of the harbor is 296 elevation. From that depth, on each side, the lower bank rises on a 3:1 slope to a berm (or foreshore) which is 100 feet wide at the original 336 elevation (approximate). The Corps of Engineers requires that the 100-foot wide berm be maintained for bank stability and protection of structures built on the upper fill areas. The upper bank rises from the 336 berm on a 3:1 slope to the top of fill, which is roughly 356 (above 500 year flood).

Fleeting.  AEP River Operations provides switchboat service and fleeting (parking) of barges. Under agreement with Semo Port, AEP River Operations is allowed to use undeveloped portions of the harbor for barge fleeting, which assists Port customers. AEP River Operations has four fleet locations in the Cape area which can handle over 100 barges total.

Repairs.  Missouri Drydock provides barge repair, towboat repair, and drydock services in Cape Girardeau (three miles upriver from Semo Port).

Barge Lines.  All major barge lines (towing companies) provide service to Cape Girardeau MO and Semo Port. In addition to Missouri Barge Lines, based in Cape, barge lines include:

Alter Barge Line
2117 State St #100
Bettendorf IA 52722
phone 563-344-5100    fax 563-344-5102
www.alterbarge.com

American Commercial
Barge Lines
P O Box 610 – 1701 East Market St
Jeffersonville IN 47130
phone 812-288-0100, 800-457-6377
www.aclines.com

Canal Barge Company
835 Union St #300
New Orleans LA 70112
phone 504-581-2424    fax 504-584-1505
www.canalbarge.com

Ingram Barge Company
P O Box 23049 – 4400 Harding Rd
Nashville TN 37202
phone 615-298-8200    fax 615-298-8213
www.ingrambarge.com

Marquette
Transportation Company
P O Box 1456 – 2308 South Fourth St
Paducah KY 42002
phone 270-443-9404    fax 270-442-7933

AEP River Operations
16150 Main Circle Drive
Suite 400
Chesterfield MO 63017
phone 636-530-2100
www.aepriverops.com

For a complete list, see the Inland River Guide (phone (314) 241-7354).