Terral RiverService Renames Six Towboats

Terral RiverService has renamed the six boats it bought when it acquired Kinder Morgan’s river assets in Blytheville, Ark., and Decatur, Ala., earlier this year. In addition to the towboats, the purchase included three fleets: the Barfield fleet at Mile 810 and the Hickman fleet at Mile 823, both on the Lower Mississippi River, and the Decatur fleet at Mile 298 on the Tennessee River.

In changing the vessel names, Terral RiverService took the opportunity to honor both employees and family members, said Johnny Martin, chief operations officer. The company, headquartered in Lake Providence, La., changed the name of the mv. Bo Huffman to Anita House, in honor of an accountant who has been with Terral-owned companies for 38 years, 11 of which have been with Terral RiverService.

Terral renamed the Austin Stone, Lena Louise, and the Dortha Stone, Hazel M, after the daughters of Virginia Mooney. They are granddaughters of Tom Gattle, Terral’s CEO. Keeping it in the same family, the company then changed the name of the Elmer Stone to Virginia Mooney.

Also, Terral renamed the mv. Rick Ellis, Felicia Terrel, after the lead dispatcher for the Barfield, Hickman and Decatur fleets. She came over with the Kinder Morgan acquisition. The Paulette K was renamed Robin Hopkins, after a 17-year employee in the accounts payable department.

Finally, while not a Kinder Morgan boat, Terral RiverService chose to rename the mv. John C. Terral. It changed the name to Evie Kate, who is the daughter of Gabe Gattle, vice president of transportation and another granddaughter of Tom Gattle. The company will restore the name John C. Terral to its fleet next summer when it puts a new 4,250 hp. towboat into service, Martin said.

“We were glad to be able to recognize some of the people who are important to Terral RiverService,” said Martin. “It’s not often we get the chance to do that.”