A hopper barge is a type of barge commonly designed to transport commodities like coal, steel, rocks, sand, soil and waste.[1] 'Hopper barge' can also refer to a barge that dumps cargo at sea. These are now commonly called 'split hopper barge', because they split along the length of the hull. Split hopper barges can be non-propelled or self-propelled .[2][3][4]