When we launched the TIER III in the port of Houston, it was the first dedicated urea bunkering barge ever to operate in a commercial port. The idea was simple: deliver marine-grade urea directly from barge to vessel, cutting out the IBC containers, the crane lifts and the slow, waste-heavy logistics chain that Tier III compliance had inherited from an earlier era. This set a new benchmark for how the industry could approach urea supply.
That proof of concept became the foundation for something bigger. UREA-Xpress, developed in exclusive partnership with Yara and operating from the port of Rotterdam, takes everything learned from the TIER III and scales it to meet the demands of Europe's busiest port. At 600 m³ capacity with pumping rates of up to 75 m³/hour, it is our most advanced urea barge to date, and the clearest signal yet that barge-based delivery is not an experiment, but the new standard.
TIER III - Where It All Started
In the port of Houston, we launched the world's first dedicated urea bunkering barge: the TIER III. At the time, no one had operated a purpose-built urea barge in a commercial port. The TIER III changed that.
The concept was straightforward: deliver urea directly from barge to vessel, cutting out the IBC handling, the crane lifts, and the logistics chain that slowed everything down. In practice, it worked better than anticipated. Bunkering time dropped by up to 80%. Tonnes of plastic waste were eliminated with every loading, and vessels in the Houston port area gained access to a Tier III supply solution that actually kept pace with their schedules.
The TIER III proved the model. What had been a new idea became a new standard.
Technical specifications - TIER III
- Length overall: 18.5 m
- Beam: 7.4 m
- DWT / Tank capacity: 74 MT / 100 CBM
- Pumping rate: 20–50 m³/hour
- Max. pressure: 8–10 bar (116–145 PSI)
- Pumping height: Up to 30 metres above the waterline
- Hose configuration: 2 × 30 m, 2-inch chemical transfer hoses
Environmental impact per 100 m³ (vs. conventional IBC supply)
- 8–10 MT reduction in CO₂ emissions
- 2,300 kg of plastic packaging eliminated
- 40% reduced overall environmental footprint
UREA-Xpress - Our Latest Innovation
Building on everything learned from the TIER III, we developed UREA-Xpress in exclusive partnership with Yara. The barge is custom-built 600 m³, purposely designed for urea delivery in the port of Rotterdam.
UREA-Xpress is not simply a larger version of its predecessor. It is the result of operational experience, customer feedback and a deliberate effort to take barge-based urea logistics as far as current technology allows. At six times the capacity of the TIER III, it serves the demands of Europe's busiest port, and does so with a supply chain reduced to its simplest possible form.
Loading directly from Yara's Sluiskil production terminal, UREA-Xpress removes every intermediate step between product origin and vessel bunker tank. No additional transport. No interim storage. No unnecessary handling. The barge connects the terminal to the vessel, and nothing else stands between them.
Technical specifications — UREA-Xpress
- Tank capacity: 600 m³
- Pumping rate: Up to 75 m³/hour
- Equivalent in tank trucks: 25 per loading
- Equivalent in IBC containers: 600 per loading
What a single loading replaces
- 25 tank truck journeys into port, reducing road congestion, working hours, and transport emissions
- 600 IBC containers, each containing approximately 20 kg of HDPE plastic and 35–40 kg of steel, typically handled two to four times each
- 30–40 tonnes of packaging material per loading
- Thousands of individual crane and truck lifts across the supply cycle
UREA-Xpress operates from the port of Rotterdam. TIER III operates in the Houston port area. For delivery enquiries, vessel scheduling, or further information, contact our team.