Mississippi River flooding limits service

Terral RiverService is currently coping with a very high Mississippi River, unlike any we have ever seen or hope to see again. Rains in the Ohio Valley and the Upper Mississippi River have created a record-high water event on the Lower Mississippi River. The Army Corps of Engineers is projecting the highest river levels in history for towns such as Greenville, Mississippi; Tallulah, Louisiana; Lake Providence, Louisiana; and Vidalia, Louisiana. All of these towns have Terral RiverService river operations.

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Years ago when Terral RiverService was looking for a shipyard to build its first new boat, Johnny Martin had specific ideas on what he wanted.

By Capt. Richard Eberhardt

Years ago when Terral RiverService was looking for a shipyard to build its first new boat, Johnny Martin had specific ideas on what he wanted.

Martin, who is now marine superintendent, said he wanted a river boat, not a canal boat. The Red River in central Louisiana really rolls during high water, and he wanted a boat with big rudders to be able to handle the current. He went into shipyards with his designs for barn-door-sized rudders.

“Build me a boat around these rudders,” Martin said. But he got excuses. The big rudders wouldn’t work because…. Excuses seemed endless. So he kept looking.

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