James Marine, Inc.

JMI strives to be the premiere full-service inland repair and transportation company in the industry, exceeding customer expectations in production and turnaround time. Our teams of professionals are committed to setting the standard in innovation, safety & development, using green technology whenever possible. Our goal is to exceed customer expectation in production and turn-around time, always with the highest regards to safety. The family owned company began with 25 employees & has a proud history of extraordinary service & growth to the inland waterways. Walker Towing Corporation was purchased in 1994 and the two companies were merged under James Marine, Inc. Paducah River Fuel Services, purchased in 1995, included additional midstream fueling & grocery supply service. Employing over 300, JMI expanded services to include tug service; barge fleeting; diesel engine repairs and parts; wheel shop; machine shop; fabrication shop; electric shop; barge and boat repairs. Paducah River Painting was added in 2000 giving JMI painting and transfer facilities. In 2005, JMI completed a new facility for blasting and painting barges on land via a proprietary automated system & in 2010 was awarded Patent No 7,837,410 for its automated blast and paint system for barges. Walker Boat Yard doubled the company’s capacity for shipyard boat & barge repair with its purchase in 2004. In 2006, JMI acquired assets of Tennessee Valley Towing (TVT) giving the company barge delivery to all points on the Tennessee & Ohio River systems. James Built Specialty Vessel Construction began offering new construction of deck & tank barges, towboats, dry-docks & specialty vessels in 2007. JMI Wickliffe, the company’s third shipyard, opened in 2008 giving increased service capacity to the Mississippi River. Brownwater Plastics opened in 2010 offering a new concept in barge cover production. JMI Hahnville was added in 2011 and JMI Elmwood was added in 2016, expanding boat & barge repair services in Louisiana. Big River Propeller, a leading propeller repair shop located in LaCenter, KY is JMIs most recent acquisition as of July 2021.