Turn Services invites you to the green for our next consecutive sellout! Turn Services Golf 2024!

About Us

Turn Services, founded in 1990 and headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of the largest independent fleeting and shifting companies in the United States. We provide a comprehensive range of barge-related services, including cleaning, repair, and vessel operations, along the Lower Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to the river’s mouth. Additionally, we offer towing services on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from Texas to Florida, as well as fuel, lube, and aggregate sales at select locations.

Our Story

Defining Principles

In 1990, Frank Morton founded Turn Services on the principles of putting people first and leading by example. Thirty years later, those founding principles still define Turn Services. Whether it’s barge fleet services on the Lower Mississippi River and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway or towing throughout the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida, we know water commerce never stops, so neither do we. Our story is just getting started, and we want you to be a part of the next chapter.

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Corporate Citizenship

Tradition

When Turn Services started 35 years ago, we had a single barge fleet in Burnside, Louisiana, and no vessels but we had a vision of how to best serve our customers, our team and our community. In those early years, Frank Morton managed payroll and contracts from his home. Operations would later move to Davant, Louisiana where Turn Services provided barge fleeting, cleaning and topside repair for companies like Electro-Coal, IMT and ACBL.

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WHY THE BIRD?

Innovation

By the early 2000s, business growth led to the company’s acquisition of the first towboat, the M/V Valley Sunrise, later renamed M/V Sir Barton. In 2004, Morton teamed up with David Fennelly and Gary Poirrier, co-chairmen of Associated Terminals, a leading terminal operator on the Lower Mississippi River. Turn Services became the primary barge fleeting and service provider for Associated Terminals. That’s when Turn Services began naming towing vessels after champion thoroughbreds, starting with Triple Crown winners.

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WHy THE HORSE?

Growth

Over the past decade, Turn Services has been growing its fleet and expanding its reach. Under the direction of Mario Muñoz, President of Turn Services, the Turn team now operates five barge fleeting locations in the New Orleans region, as well as Michoud Fleet in the Michoud Canal. As the company’s fleet of pushboats has grown, Turn has expanded its barge transport services as well. We now offer shifting, towing and “last mile” services on both the Lower Mississippi River and all along the Gulf Coast while maintaining our core values and commitment to safety.

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Industry Involvement

Turn Guarantee

When you partner with Turn Services for your marine transportation needs, you can count on efficient, safe and environmentally responsible service from an unsurpassed staff of professionals. It’s what we call the Turn Guarantee.

Mission

To expeditiously meet our customers’ waterborne transportation needs while continuously striving to be a leader in safety and environmental stewardship.

Vision

To always embrace environmental, health, and safety objectives as core business values. To be a quality organization of innovators committed to opportunity and growth to continuously upgrade equipment, procedures, and systems to create value for our customers and employees.

Our Core Values

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People

Safety
WE BELIEVE that the health and personal safety of our team members and associates is paramount, not just a priority. 

Respect
WE BELIEVE in treating our team members, our communities, and our customers with respect for others’ unique ideas, cultures, values and priorities.

Kindness
WE BELIEVE in fostering a culture of kindness that all those we interact with are treated as people first.

Corporate Citizenship
WE BELIEVE in being responsible and proactive citizens, partnering with communities in the areas which we work, making a positive difference through involvement and engagement.

Commitment
WE BELIEVE in being committed to our team members by fostering an environment of continuous personal growth and improvement.

Team-Oriented
WE BELIEVE in the importance of the success of the team at all levels of the organization. No one team member is more important than the other.

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Planet

Environmental Stewardship
WE BELIEVE in protecting the environment at all times by meeting or exceeding regulatory standards and ensuring our operations result in the least impact on the environment and our neighboring communities.

Sustainability
WE BELIEVE in committing to the long-term sustainability of our communities and the environment by always considering our impact on the world.

Responsibility
WE BELIEVE it is our responsibility as an organization to safeguard our natural resources through conservation and sustainable practices.

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Property

Innovation
WE BELIEVE in setting the standard in comprehensive logistical solutions by fostering innovation and encouraging ideas that will make us the safest and most efficient cargo-handling operation in the world.

Ownership
WE BELIEVE in a culture that promotes team member accountability in the care of all assets to ensure the quality and longevity of our equipment.

Proven
WE BELIEVE in using a data-driven approach to constantly assess our practices and processes for constant improvement.

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Performance

Efficiency
WE BELIEVE in the never-ending pursuit of efficiency by harnessing the knowledge and expertise of our team members, the utilization of cutting-edge technology, and the continuous improvement of our practices.

Expertise
WE BELIEVE in the importance of providing industry experts in all areas of our organization and will ensure that opportunities to enhance the capabilities of our team are provided so that we can deliver the safest and most efficient logistical solutions in the industry.

Quality
WE BELIEVE in continuous improvement by thoroughly investigating all challenges to the quality of service and incorporating lessons learned into our practices.

Growth
WE BELIEVE in seeking and exploring opportunities that will lead to continuous controlled growth and the foundation for enhanced market presence that will drive the organization forward.