About Us...
Located on the bank of the Mississippi River at the Helena Arkansas Bridge, Helena Marine Service was established by James E. Walden in 1961. He offered the same midstream fueling and supply delivery that he had perfected at Memphis in the late 40’s as well as providing tug service for the line-haul vessel and barge fleeting/switching service to the local terminals. Although the fueling operation was discontinued in the early 80’s, the harbor service remains very active – working 24/7/365. Local customers include ADM, Bunge, Helm Fertilizer, Scoular Grain and several locally owned terminals. Most all of the major barge lines bring barges in/out of Helena – Artco, Ingram, Marquette, Robert Miller, & ACBL to name a few.
In 1987 Mr. Walden established another company – Helena Bridge Terminal. This company loads/off-loads barges, handles mostly grains, fertilizer, cottonseed/hulls, & rock. This is a truck to barge to truck operation. There is no house storage, only ground. To accommodate our customer’s needs, a 24,500 bushel capacity grain bin was installed. To further enable faster dumping of the trucks, a 42” belt system was recently put into operation. Other services offered are barge cleaning and minor, above water repairs.
Helena Marine Service and Helena Bridge Terminal share the same management and the same property location. Jane Russell, employed by Mr. Walden in 1968, became President of both companies at his passing in 1997. Jerry Richardson, Vice President of Terminal Operations, joined the company in 1980. He oversees all day-to-day operations and maintenance. Terry Ferebee, Vice President of Vessel Operations, joined the company in 1977. He handles all dispatching, oversees vessel crews and maintenance. These companies have a combined employment of approximately 25-30 people.
We maintain the service of a private safety & health consulting firm to assure compliance of regulations and provide orientation to all employees. Self-check/audits and safety meetings are carried out monthly. Our facility security plan and vessel security plan are USCG approved. In September ’05 we received our certification in the AWO – Responsible Carrier Program and have successfully pass a re-audit each year.
In 1987 Mr. Walden established another company – Helena Bridge Terminal. This company loads/off-loads barges, handles mostly grains, fertilizer, cottonseed/hulls, & rock. This is a truck to barge to truck operation. There is no house storage, only ground. To accommodate our customer’s needs, a 24,500 bushel capacity grain bin was installed. To further enable faster dumping of the trucks, a 42” belt system was recently put into operation. Other services offered are barge cleaning and minor, above water repairs.
Helena Marine Service and Helena Bridge Terminal share the same management and the same property location. Jane Russell, employed by Mr. Walden in 1968, became President of both companies at his passing in 1997. Jerry Richardson, Vice President of Terminal Operations, joined the company in 1980. He oversees all day-to-day operations and maintenance. Terry Ferebee, Vice President of Vessel Operations, joined the company in 1977. He handles all dispatching, oversees vessel crews and maintenance. These companies have a combined employment of approximately 25-30 people.
We maintain the service of a private safety & health consulting firm to assure compliance of regulations and provide orientation to all employees. Self-check/audits and safety meetings are carried out monthly. Our facility security plan and vessel security plan are USCG approved. In September ’05 we received our certification in the AWO – Responsible Carrier Program and have successfully pass a re-audit each year.