Foss Maritime Co News

Vigilance, the second of the Port of Long Beach’s two new fireboats, was officially brought into service at America’s second busiest port on Monday, and together with its twin Protector (delivered in 2016), will replace fireboats Challenger and Liberty that entered service in the late 1980s. Vigilance and Protector, designed by Robert Allan Ltd. and built by Foss Maritime Co., cost a combined $51.6 million. Jensen Maritime Consultants served as construction manager. Each vessel features 10 water cannons capable of extinguishing fires in the harbor or on nearby land with more than 41…

A new fireboat was officially welcomed into service Wednesday at the Port of Long Beach, representing a significant leap forward in protecting the harbor and the flow of trade through the nation’s second-busiest seaport. In a dockside ceremony attended by 100 invited guests, the fireboat named “Protector” was dedicated in memory of Donald Domenic DiMarzo, a former Long Beach Fire Department captain. DiMarzo served as a fire marshal aboard the USS Intrepid in the Pacific during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service for leading efforts to save the aircraft carrier after an attack that set it ablaze on Nov. 25, 1944.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach honored five companies for their extraordinary efforts to fight harmful emissions at the 6th Annual Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) Air Quality Awards held in San Pedro. The CAAP Air Quality Awards began shortly after the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach approved the historic San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan in 2006. Port tenants and other port-related businesses are eligible to submit award entries, which are judged by a panel comprised of port staff and representatives from the South Coast Air Quality Management District…

Foss Maritime Co. will lay off its 60 workers and leave the Columbia River, OregonLive.com reported. OregonLive said the Seattle company will sell its Columbia River business to Tidewater Barge Lines, which moves grain and other cargo along the Columbia-Snake river system, pitting Tidewater against Shaver Transportation Co. in another line of business, transporting river pilots and maneuvering large cargo vessels in and out of ports. OregonLive.com

In early July, residents of communities on both sides of Lake Roosevelt in eastern Washington will celebrate the launch of a new ferry, the Sanpoil, replacing the Martha S. which has made 30 to 35 crossings every day for 65 years, linking the communities in Lincoln and Ferry Counties. Playing a role in the ferry project was its delivery to eastern Washington by Omega Morgan, a Northwest provider of complex lifting, rigging and transport solutions. The new ferry was built by Foss Maritime Co. in its Rainier, Ore., facility and consisted of nine pieces—the main hull and eight additional loads.

Tug retrofitted to use patented hybrid technology. A second Foss Maritime Co. hybrid tug will soon be working the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Foss once again partnered with Aspin Kemp and Associates (AKA) to retrofit the Campbell Foss with this proven, patented hybrid technology. The tug is the first vessel to be retrofitted with motor generators, batteries and control systems at Foss' Rainier, Ore. shipyard. The Campbell Foss will join its award-winning hybrid sister…

Jackup drilling rig successfully navigated through Cook Inlet. Foss Maritime Co. tugs Justine Foss and Jeffrey Foss have completed a successful tow of a jackup drilling rig to its winter harbor in Port Graham, Alaska. The Spartan 151 jackup drilling rig was moved from its drill site at Nikiski, in the Cook Inlet, which becomes choked with ice during the winter. Gary Faber, president and COO of Foss Maritime, said the successful tow underscores the company's competence in navigating…

Foss Maritime Co. of Seattle is the apparent low bidder to build a new 20-car Keller Ferry to serve Washington’s only ferry route east of the Cascade Mountains. The Keller ferry crosses Lake Roosevelt (part of the Columbia River) between the towns of Wilbur, Wash., and Keller, Wash., and provides essential transportation to several northeastern Washington counties, including Lincoln, Ferry and Stevens. “We’ve worked long and hard to replace this ferry,” said state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond after three bids were opened today. Foss Maritime was the apparent low bidder at $9,557,178. This is nearly $250,000 under the state’s estimate of $9,803,475.

The Youth Maritime Training Association (YMTA) is a non-discriminating nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting students who wish to pursue careers in the maritime industry including the marine sciences. The YMTA offers an annual scholarship which may be used by students pursuing maritime training and education in community colleges, technical and vocational programs, colleges, universities, maritime academies or other educational institutions. Scholarships will be awarded in the amounts of one $5,000, one $3,000, and two $1,000 in the Spring of 2010.     Must plan to pursue a post-secondary training or educational program leading to a maritime or marine related career.

According to a report from Telegraph-Journal, as seaports try to raise their environmental standards, some companies are finding business opportunities. Foss Maritime Co. of Seattle, for instance, has developed the Prius of tugboats, which consumes less diesel and generates less pollution by using batteries for all the vessel's low-power needs. Foss calls it the world's first hybrid tug and expects to deliver it to the Port of Los Angeles early next year. Other companies will discover what Foss learned. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the largest cargo container ports in the nation, are willing to serve as testing grounds, business incubators and venture capitalists.

Sixty-Nine prominent shipping industry executives have been elected as new members of ABS. In addition, Rear Admiral David L. Brewer III, Commander, Military Sealift Command, U.S. Navy, was appointed as a member. This brings the ABS worldwide membership to 803. The members, each eminent in their maritime field of endeavor, provide broad governance and oversight of ABS. Members are drawn from various sectors of the marine, offshore and related industries worldwide. M.A. Marcelo P. S.A. Ghazi A. Al-Ibrahim, President, Mideast Shipmanagement Ltd. Giovanni Barbaro, Owner, Pietro Barbaro S.p.A. S.p.A. Giuseppe Bottiglieri, Managing Director, Bottiglieri Di Navigazione, S.p.A. Jae Cheol Byun, President, JSM International Ltd. Dr. Mauro Fernando Orofino Campos, President, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.

Foss Maritime Co., which was responsible for a December 2003 oil spill that fouled shorelines in Snohomish and Kitsap counties, will pay nearly $577,000 in state penalties, Jay Manning, director of the Department of Ecology (Ecology), announced. "This spill was miniscule compared to the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska and the cleanup effort was aggressive, but the effects were still serious," Manning said. A Foss barge spilled approximately 4,700 gallons of heavy fuel oil while being filled at the ChevronTexaco terminal at Point Wells in Snohomish County just after midnight on Dec. 30, 2003. Oil washed onto shore at the terminal and drifted across Puget Sound to coat beaches and the Doe-kag-wats marsh on the northern shore of Port Madison.

For 2006, Towing Solutions awarded the Tractor of the Year award to the 5,080 hp “reverse tractor” (ASD) Dolphin Class designed by Robert Allan Ltd. These boats are owned and operated by Foss Maritime Co. of Seattle, Wash. When Foss Maritime considered adding more tractors to their fleet, they first evaluated the vessels in their current fleet in an attempt to identify additional potential towing requirements in the various Ports that they serve. They quickly recognized that the twin 8,000 hp Voith Schneider true tractors that they have in Puget Sound more than meet that area’s high speed escort needs. In San Francisco they also have twin 6,250 Hp. Z-Drive reverse tractors (Foss refers to them as ASDs) that also more than meet the escorting requirements of that Port.

Foss Maritime Co. will pay the Suquamish Tribe $1.1 million for environmental and spiritual damage caused by a 2003 oil spill near Edmonds, Snohomish County, reported by the AP. Nearly 4,700 gallons of heavy oil polluted a section of the tribe’s shellfish beds at Indianola when a Foss barge was overfilled at a fueling station at Point Wells on Dec. 30, 2003. The tribe announced that it had reached a settlement with Foss on Feb. 9. It plans to use the money to help build a $20m cultural and economic revitalization project on the reservation. Foss, which took responsibility for the accident, previously paid the tribe $126,000, plus $265,000 to a federal fund for environmental cleanup projects. Source: AP

Thomas V. Van Dawark will assume duties as the president and chief operating officer of Todd Pacific Shipyards. Stephen Welch, Todd Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, made the announcement. Van Dawark is the former president and CEO of Marine Resources and Foss Maritime Co. In his 14 years as president, he grew revenue and income substantially. Welch said Van Dawark will build on the solid foundation that Rollie Webb established. Webb recently announced his resignation from the president and COO position.

Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) San Francisco directed three tugboats to help divert a 700-foot dry-dock barge from colliding with the San Francisco Bay Bridge today. At approximately 8 p.m. today a night watchman from Pier 70 in San Francisco noticed that the dry-dock vessel had broken loose and notified the Coast Guard. Upon notification, the Coast Guard directed three tug boats to intercept the adrift vessel. The Coast Guard worked closely with the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to ensure public safety on the Bay Bridge. The tug boats Brynn Foss and Andrew Foss of the Foss Maritime Co. and the Sharon Brusco of the Brusco Tug and Barge Co.