Amnav News

Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB) said it has delivered the final vessel in a series of four new tugs for Foss Maritime.The ASD-90 tractor tugs Jamie Ann, Sarah Avrick, Leisa Florence and Rachael Allen were completed and delivered between April 2020 and June 2021. Foss, a division of the Saltchuk company, will station two of the vessels in Los Angeles/Long Beach, while the other two vessels will be in the San Francisco Bay providing escort and assist services to large tankers and containerships calling on the California ports.The series' fourth vessel…

Seattle-based tug and towing company Foss Maritime said its chief operating officer Will Roberts has been promoted to president.“It was evident to our leadership team that Will’s ability to perform at the highest level along with his business acumen continues to align very well with our organization,” said Jason Childs CEO of Foss' parent company Saltchuk Marine. “As we look to the future, we’re confident that Will is the right person to lead Foss and carry on the long legacy of providing the highest level of service and support to our team and customers in the maritime sector.”Roberts said…

The hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) departed Los Angeles Friday after supporting local COVID-19 response efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.Mercy has been at the World Cruise Center Terminal in the Port of Los Angeles since March 27, serving state and local healthcare providers by treating non-COVID-19 patients in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Medical professionals aboard the ship treated a variety of patients and performed medical procedures including general…

U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) arrived in Los Angeles, Friday to support the nation’s COVID-19 response efforts.While in Los Angeles, the ship will serve as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients currently admitted to shore-based hospitals, and will provide a full spectrum of medical care to include general surgeries, critical care and ward care for adults. This will allow local health professionals to focus on treating COVID-19 patients and for shore-based hospitals to use their Intensive Care Units and ventilators for those patients.Operated by Military Sealift Command…

American maritime holding companies Foss Marine Holdings announced that effective immediately it will merge all of its operations and resources under a single name: Foss Maritime Company. Today, Foss Marine Holdings' wholly owned subsidiaries - Foss Maritime, AMNAV, Young Brothers, Hawaiian Tug & Barge and Cook Inlet Tug & Barge - operate what they say is the country's largest coastal tug and barge fleet. Effective immediately, Foss Marine Holdings will merge with Foss Maritime, whose lines of business include two shipyards, harbor services, ocean towing, marine engineering and others.

Largest US tug and barge holding company unites family of companies under single powerful brand. America's largest coastal tug and barge operator is taking a new - but widely recognized - name: Foss Marine Holdings, Inc. Company officials announced today that Marine Resources Group (MRG) is becoming Foss Marine Holdings. The Foss name - which celebrates a rich maritime tradition that includes century-long service and a record of innovation - will now represent a family of independent subsidiary companies that spans North America and the globe.

AmNav Maritime Services of San Francisco, Calif., is set to take delivery of the first in a new series of technologically advanced 5,000 to 7,000 hp Azmuthing Stern Drive (ASD) ship assist tugs to be built by Halter Marine, Inc. of Gulfport, Miss. Merritt added, "the 'Enhanced ASD Thruster Tugs' design integrates a wide beam and forward skeg hull form, ASD propulsion units, high performance engines, remotely controlled winches and an automated wheelhouse command system to meet the challenging demands of efficient, safe, and environmentally responsible ship handling requirements of today's modern ports and terminal facilities. "The first 'Enhanced ASD Thruster Tug,' scheduled for delivery in May, 2001, will be 6,250 horse power with principle hull dimensions of 98 ft. in length, 40 ft.

Foss Maritime Company of Seattle, Wa., has announced plans to build a new class of the highest horsepower tugs on the West Coast devoted exclusively to ship docking. The new series of 6,250 horsepower Azmuthing Stern Drive (ASD) thruster tugs will be constructed for the use in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., by Halter Marine Inc., in Lockport, Lou. This tug is scheduled for arrival early in the fourth quarter of 2001. The 6,250 hp Detroit Diesel engines are fitted in a hull that will have an overall length of 98 ft. and a beam of 40 ft. The propulsion driveline consists of the new fuel efficient, electronically controlled Detroit 16V4000 main engines, which exceed California's air quality standards for low emissions.

In a commitment to significantly enhance services to its customers, and to expand its ship-assist capabilities at California’s largest ports, AMNAV Maritime Services will construct four new tugs that will be among the most powerful in the marketplace. The multi-million dollar fleet expansion was announced by Milton Merritt, president of the company that is already a major provider of ship-docking services on San Francisco Bay and at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. “Through this investment, we will be both growing and improving our presence in the ship-assist sector,” said Merritt. AMNAV, part of Seattle-based Marine Resources Group (MRG), will build the new tugs at an MRG-owned shipyard in Rainier, Oregon.

Bay Area members of Congress suggested that tougher safeguards might be needed on cargo ships to prevent accidents like the recent Cosco Busan spill that resulted in 58,000 gallons of heavy bunker fuel in San Francisco Bay. One possibility would be to require double-skins on fuel tanks or some sort of partial double hull on cargo ships. In response to the disastrous Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989, all oil tankers in U.S. waters must have double hulls by 2015. Another would be to make the Coast Guard's vessel transport system more stringent for ships entering and leaving ports, like the air traffic control system. Though the Cosco Busan did not have a double hull…