The split mud barge is composed of two symmetrical half-hulls hinged at the head and tail ends. It can automatically turn around the longitudinal axis to unload mud according to the relative position of the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy. It has the advantages of simple structure and large tank capacity. Self-propelled mud barges are mostly open-bottomed cargo ships with high freeboard and strong wind resistance, and common mud barges with self-propelled power. The mud barge is classified according to the volume of the mud tank.

Barges that cooperate with bucket dredgers, bucket dredgers and grab dredgers to transport dredged sediment are self-propelled and non-self-propelled. There are many types of mud barges, such as open bottom type, open side type and closed bottom type. There are movable mud doors on the bottom of the open bottom mud barge. The open side mud barge is equipped with movable mud doors at the bilge on both sides. Open the mud doors to discharge mud automatically.