Barges or flat bottomed boats are used to haul and transport heavy goods and services through the canals and rivers. Barges and riverboats have been used as modes of transporting goods since centuries.

In South Carolina, river boats plied on the Santee and Congaree Rivers, from the city of Columbia to Georgetown. Barges that are propelled by a tugboat utilize 88% of less fuel per ton in comparison to a cargo carried by a truck and 55% less than cargo carried by a train. A single barge is equivalent to 60 trucks. The shipping costs automatically come down thereby making exports a lot cheaper. Movement by barge in SC is quite common along the rivers and canals in the state.

All goods that are shipped by the sea are of not of equal dimensions. Therefore these cannot be fitted inside a shipping container. Some of the containers are modified to accommodate oversized loads. While some of them have an open top, others do not have side walls. But at times even this additional space appears to be inadequate for a bulky shipment.

This holds true for large infrastructure projects such as mines, motorways, processing facilities, wind farms, construction units all of which require the use of heavy equipment. These are moved with the help of heavy lift ships that have a semi-submersible capability. For excessive loads, it is necessary that specialized ships are used. Industries that involve the use of heavy machinery employ the services of a professional agency to conduct their shipments.