The safest, most environmentally friendly means of transportation in the country rolls through Vicksburg on a daily basis.

Yet, shipping via towboat and barge slips by almost unnoticed in an industry that often conjures up ideas of smog, crowded highway and dangerous rail crossings.

“Probably the most important thing about our industry and what we do for the environment is that we are no doubt about it the greenest form of bulk transporting in the country,” said Austin Golding, marketing manager for Vicksburg-based Golding Barge Line.

A typical inland barge has the capacity of about 15 rail cars or 60 semi trucks, According to the American Waterways Operators Association.

“AWO members play a vital role in ensuring the safe and efficient movement of the nation’s critical cargo,” said Tom Allegretti, President & CEO of the American Waterways Operators. “The tugboat, towboat and barge industry directly employs tens of thousands of workers while supporting hundreds of thousands more.”

A fully loaded tow, Golding said, is equivalent to about 216 railcars or 1,050 semi-truck loads.

“I think our impact in the United States is fewer trucks on the highways, fewer locomotives in your neighborhood and fewer pipelines running in your back yards,” Golding said.

With Golding’s 20 boats and 67 barges, pushing the massive loads is done with two low-emission diesel engines. All waste from the boats including sewage and oil are collected and disposed of according to EPA regulations.

“They are completely self-sustained boats,” Golding said.

The safety numbers also speak for themselves. Between 2001 and 2009 there were 132 times more fatal crashes involving semis than towboats, according to the Waterways Operators Association.

“We operate so quiet that we have to constantly work to get people to recognize we are still out there when we are pushing for regulation or legislation,” Golding said. “Sometimes when you’re the best kid in class, people forget your name. We’ll take it that way for sure.”

The same quiet is also prevalent in public perception, Golding said.

“I think that we take this river for granted in Vicksburg a lot of times because we all see it every day, but it is a super highway and a natural wonder that is an envy of the rest of the world,” he said.