Justine Foss News

The Arthur Foss, the Justine Foss and many other Foss Maritime vessels have been free of environmental mishaps for the past 20 years. In fact, 80 tugs and barges owned by the Seattle-based company, which has one of the nation's largest coastal tug and barge fleet, are being recognized this year by a major maritime organization for their outstanding environmental safety records. The Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) announced the awards honoring Foss' environmental achievements earlier this month in the nation's capital.

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, founded by the matriarch of the Foss family in 1889, is as much a cultural icon on the U.S. West Coast as McAllister or Moran are on the East Coast. Norwegian immigrant Thea Foss began the business when she bought her first row boat in Tacoma, Wash. and painted it the signature green and white. The Foss family grew the business into a launch  service ferrying crew and supplies in the 1910s, then shifted into towing work in the 1940s. Thea Foss is considered the inspiration for Tug Boat Annie…

For 18 years, the Drew Foss, a tugboat operated by the Foss Maritime Company, has been free of environmental mishap. So have the Arthur Foss, the Justine Foss and a dozen other Foss vessels. In fact, 59 vessels owned by the Seattle-based Foss are being recognized by a major maritime organization for their standout environmental safety records. Altogether, the Foss vessels feted by CSA have gone a combined 551 years without an environmental incident. "When we talk with our customers, their first concern is safety and the environment," said Gary Faber, the company's president and COO.

As recovery efforts in the wake of Haiti's devastating earthquake continue, tugs and barges from two Seattle-based companies are in the U.S. Gulf poised to participate in the vast international relief operation. America Cargo Transport Corp. (ACTC), a wholly owned Foss subsidiary, and Foss Maritime Company are preparing to carry approximately 6,000 tons of food aid cargo to the Haitian capital of Port Au Prince for USAID, according to company sources. Initial efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the stricken island nation have slowed because of severe damage to the port and transportation infrastructure in Port Au Prince. ACTC has routinely carried food aid cargo for USAID and USDA to Port Au Prince before the earthquake and specializes in handling the complex logistics of moving high…

The Coast Guard will hold the final public hearing for the investigation into the January 2006 sinking of the tug Valour, which claimed the lives of three crew members. Coast Guard marine investigators have recalled the crew of the Valour to obtain statements and finalize the timeline of events leading up to the sinking. Facts collected at this final hearing will be developed into a conclusion to be presented in the Coast Guard's final investigative report. Coast Guard marine investigators from Marine Safety Unit Savannah and Sector Charleston, S.C., have spent more than a year piecing together the events from the night Valour sank. The Coast Guard held its last public hearing regarding Valour March 1, 2006, in Tampa, Fla.

The Coast Guard will begin a formal marine casualty investigation into the circumstances surrounding the leading to the sinking of the tug Valour, which sank 37-miles off the coast of Cape Fear, N.C., January 18, resulting in multiple loss of life. The hearings will begin Wednesday March 1, at 9 a.m. at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg's Prevention Office at 155 Columbia Drive in Tampa, Fla. The investigation is intended to determine causes of the accident and obtain information that may prevent or reduce the occurrence of similar incidents. Valour sank in 15-to-20 foot seas and gale force winds off the Carolina coast. Three people died in the accident.

High seas off Frying Pan Shoals on the night of January 24 led to the sinking of a tugboat and the death of three crew members. The 125-foot tugboat Valour set its barge adrift to turn around and recover a crew member who fell overboard. During the search, the tug started taking on water and sank around 2:30 a.m. on January 25 about 39 miles off the Cape Fear coast near the Frying Pan Shoals light tower. The U.S. Coast Guard and the crew of another tugboat, Justine Foss, helped rescue six crewmen. One died after being rescued. One of the missing two is believed to have gone down with the tug. The Coast Guard searched more than 1,700 nautical square miles over a period of 16 hours for the other missing crew member before suspending its search. The U.S.

A Coast Guard crew secured an adrift double-hulled barge carrying 5.5 million gallons of petroleum product off the southern coast of North Carolina. Members of Coast Guard Sector North Carolina's prevention department hooked towing gear to the tug Justine Foss, with the help of a rescue boat from Station Wrightsville Beach. Justine Foss is the same tug that responded to the original distress call of the tug Valour's crew. The Coast Guard team was lowered from a Marine Corps helicopter based in Cherry Point, N.C. The Marine helicopter was requested because of its proximity to the operating area. While adrift, the barge hit and displaced the #16 red buoy near Frying Pan Shoals off Wrightsville Beach, N.C. It does not appear that the buoy caused any damage to the barge.

Captain Sam Nelson and crew of the Foss Maritime Company tugboat Justine Foss received the Lifesaving Award from the Seamen's Church Institute at their annual Silver Bell Dinner on June 1 in New York. United States Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen was in attendance and personally congratulated Captain Nelson. Captain Nelson and his crew received the award for their heroic efforts in response to the needs of the crew of the tugboat Valour and the barge M-192 while in heavy weather and rough seas on January 18, 2006 off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Capt. Nelson and his crew, through their seamanship skills, were able to rescue five men from the water and regain control of the laden tank barge during darkness and severe sea conditions…