Waxler Transportation Company’s presence on the U.S. Inland Waterways started in the early 1900s when as a boy Sherman “Ray” Waxler helped his father who owned a ferry on the Mississippi River working between Arkansas and Tennessee at Richardson Landing. Ray continued working on the river for Ohio Barge Company and Mississippi Valley Barge Line Company.

In 1951 Ray started Waxler Company in Memphis Tennessee and began building the company’s first towboat, a 1,200 HP vessel named M/V Jerry Waxler. The business began by providing towboats to transport other company’s barges. He continued to build and purchase towboats and barges for cargo transportation.

In 1985 Waxler was the first company to transport cargo on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway by transporting 2.7 million gallons of gasoline from Meraux, Louisiana to Sheffield, Alabama for Murphy Oil Company. This historic trip received national attention and was written about in National Geographic Magazine.

In the 2000s, Waxler became a member of the American Waterways Operators (AWO), purchased its first double-hull tank barge and became a Responsible Carrier Provider (RCP).

Since 2003, all of Waxler’s petroleum tank barge fleet has been built using double-hull construction. In 2007, Waxler became part of the SEACOR Holdings Inc. family of companies.

Back to top ^