Compliance

Ensuring all Turn Services employees return home safely after each shift is the ultimate goal of our Compliance program. 

Our Compliance staff is comprised of marine professionals with decades of operational and regulatory maritime experience who understand the complexities and demands placed on our Operations personnel every hour of every day. The foundation of Turn Services’ Compliance program is an exceptionally strong safety culture based on mutual respect and open communications across all departments.  The men and women at the deck level view the Compliance Team as an asset to assist their daily operations and not an in-house regulator compelling compliance through enforcement. 

Turn Services’ regulatory compliance program is based on a robust safety management system in place since 2011. Our safety management system has always been built from the ground up with input from the men and women in the field and not in the vacuum of a corporate office. This safety management system is routinely audited, both internally and externally, to verify the effectiveness and to identify potential areas for improvement which foster updates and continual improvement throughout our safety and regulatory compliance programs. In addition, all Turn Services towing vessels and barge fleeting facilities are audited multiple times per year to ensure safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible operations.

Our Compliance Team works collaboratively with a wide range of regulatory and industry partners including the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, American Waterways Operators, and Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association, as well as a diverse customer base spanning all inland marine operations. These relationships are critical to effectively manage a wide range of regulatory requirements including Subchapter M, the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA), and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). 

To ensure we are in total compliance with all Coast Guard regulations and responsive to the requirements of our customers, we perform quarterly internal audits on every vessel and at every facility. We also participate in many third-party audits. In the past, those have included AWO’s Responsible Carrier Program as well as audits by Marathon Petroleum and Exxon.

All four secure fleets have USCG approved Facility Security Plans and trained Facility Security Officers. We work closely with the Coast Guard to maintain the highest standards at all secure fleets and aboard all vessels. Each towboat has a USCG-approved Vessel Security Plan and each captain is a trained Vessel Security Officer. Every towboat has undergone the Coast Guard Bridging Inspection Program and displays the sticker signifying compliance. Furthermore, each crew boat holds a Certificate of Inspection issued by the Coast Guard.

Training

Turn Services is dedicated to helping our mariners grow in their career. From the deck to the wheelhouse, we facilitate an environment that encourages our teammates to achieve their highest potential.

We provide our Captains and Pilots with opportunities to build their skill set using real world scenarios in cutting-edge simulators during our annual Wheelhouse Proficiency Management classes and Captains’ Meeting Workshops. Our Captains also train on industry-leading navigation and management systems including Rosepoint, Helm Connect, and Barge Ops during these classes and meetings. Additional partner training opportunities include live fire exercises satisfying Coast Guard Basic and Advanced Firefighting Requirements, Radar and Hazwopper, Red Cross and American Heart Association First Aid, CPR and AED training, and much more.

We are also committed to developing our team members through measured training programs provided to our shipyard and deck employees. Shipyard opportunities include Industrial Truck training, Shipyard Rescue Team with Confined Space Extraction training, Crane Operator training, Shipyard Competent Person training, and many more OSHA approved certifications programs. Our Deckhands are brought into an annual workshop that provides an opportunity for direct learning from our safety, maintenance, and operations teams. These workshops facilitate communication from the deck level direct to management, cementing our dedication to a free flow of information from all our employees. Motivated Deckhands can also earn a spot in the Turn Services Steersman program after satisfying Sea Time and Coast Guard Examination requirements, giving them an opportunity to become the next generation of Licensed Masters on our Inland Waterways and Western Rivers systems.

Environmental Stewardship

At Turn Services, we are dedicated to the protection of the environment and are committed to being good stewards of our nation’s waterways.

Minimizing the environmental footprint of our shoreside facility and vessel operations is a strategic priority at Turn Services.

We believe it is the responsibility of our team members and our operations to comply with environmental laws and regulations and continually improve our environmental and resource management. As part of Destination Zero, our team members recognize our responsibility to the communities that we work with to keep our waterways clean and pollution-free. We want to leave a positive footprint in our environment, improving the lives of our team and their families that live on the other side of the levee. We keep this promise to them by making sure we manage our environmental impact at all turns and keep our focus on protecting our waterways.

An integral part of Destination Zero is the early education and effective buy-in of all Turn Service team members to our commitment to the environment from day one of their employment. The Stop Work Authority each Turn team member is empowered to use for potential safety concerns extends to potential environmental concerns as well.  Our operations personnel work hand in hand daily with our dedicated team of highly experienced Compliance professionals to develop and continually improve our safety and environmental compliance culture. This mutually supporting relationship ensures our operations are planned and executed in the most environmentally responsible fashion possible.  We actively seek input from the men and women in the field and use that input to update our Safety Management System to foster continual improvement in our safety and environmental culture throughout all levels of the organization. At Turn Services, we believe the best way to respond to an environmental incident is to prevent it from ever happening.