Terral RiverService, Inc. is pleased to announce the purchase of Kinder Morgan river assets in Blytheville, Arkansas and Decatur, Alabama. The purchase, which closed on December 31, 2017, includes three fleets: The Barfield fleet at mile marker 810 and the Hickman fleet at mile marker 823, both on the Lower Mississippi River, and the Decatur fleet at mile marker 298 on the Tennessee River.
“This is a completely new service area for us as far as our fleeting operations go, but it complements our towing operations very well,” said Johnny Martin, Terral COO.
With this acquisition Terral added 6 push boats to its fleet, 2 wash docks and cranes, and various other barges and equipment. In addition to the equipment, Terral also added fleeting space for 250 barges plus 56 employees to its team.
“This expands both our landside operations through the wash docks and our marine operations by adding the three fleets and the boats,” added Johnny Martin. “The purchase was a strategic move for Terral with the recent addition of the Vulcan Mid America contract. This gives us a great position on the mid-Mississippi River to stage employees and vessels.”
Gabe Gattle, Vice President of Transportation, led the team at Terral during the purchase negotiations and worked diligently with the management of Kinder Morgan to ensure a smooth transition for both companies. He is currently leading the transition team as we move forward in the operation of these new locations.
Stephen Corby with Kinder Morgan said, “Terral rose to the top of our RFP process based on their strong marine industry presence and their commitment to values and policies that we share.”
Terral would like to extend our warmest welcome to the employees who have joined us from Kinder Morgan, and we look forward to a long relationship together.
New Vessels
- M/V Bo Huffman—Decatur Fleet
- M/V Austin Stone—Hickman Fleet
- M/V Elmer Stone—Hickman Fleet
- ·M/V Dortha Stone—Barfield Fleet
- M/V Rick Ellis—Barfield Fleet
- M/V Paulette K—Barfield/Hickman Fleets
Services at New Locations
The services offered at our new locations are on/off tow, barge fleeting and shifting, barge cleaning, setting barge covers, and top water repairs. For more information please contact our lead dispatcher Felicia Terrell at 870-762-8164.
Top photo and bottom right photo: Push boats from the Hickman operation.
Bottom left photo: A dock crane from the Barfield operation.