Scott Merritt News

Arthur F. Mead, Vice President and Chief Counsel at Crowley Maritime Corporation, has been elected Chairman of the American Waterways Operators (AWO), succeeding outgoing Chairman Scott Merritt, former Chief Operating Officer with Foss Maritime Company, LLC.Members of the national tugboat, towboat and barge industry association elected a new slate of leaders this week during the association's Spring Board of Directors / Annual Membership Meeting, which was held virtually due to COVID-19 precautionary measures that resulted in the meeting not taking place in Washington…

The members of the American Waterways Operators, the national tugboat, towboat and barge industry association, elected a new slate of leaders earlier this month during the association's annual Spring Convention held in Washington, D.C. Scott Merritt, former Chief Operating Officer for Foss Maritime Company, LLC, was elected Chairman. Arthur F. Mead, Vice President and General Counsel at Crowley Maritime Corporation, was elected Vice Chairman. Mr. Merritt succeeds outgoing Chairman Tom Marian…

Foss Maritime will centralize fleet management and operations with Helm CONNECT. The announcement comes as Foss progresses to better organize and streamline operations across core business units and wholly-owned subsidiaries along the U.S. West Coast, and in Hawaii and Alaska.As part of the agreement with Helm Operations, Foss will centralize its vessel dispatching, billing, maintenance, compliance and personnel management in the Helm CONNECT software platform.“At Foss, we’re constantly looking at new ways to improve our business.

Nicole Foss, the final of Foss’ three new state-of-the-art Arctic Class tugs designed to operate in the extreme conditions of the far north, was christened last week at the Foss Waterway Seaport in Tacoma, Wash. The vessel was built at the Foss Rainier, Ore. shipyard and will enter service this summer. Foss president and CEO John Parrott made opening remarks, praising the hard work and dedication of the people, designers, and customers that made the project possible. Scott Merritt, chief operating officer of Foss also spoke, praising the team at the Rainier Shipyard.

Foss Maritime Company recently announced it will open a consolidated customer service center in Oregon in April 2016. The company's existing Portland office will be renovated and modernized to incorporate the best available customer service technologies, including a state-of-the-art telephony system, heightened cyber security, and enhanced dispatching and vessel tracking capabilities. "Consolidating customer service in our Columbia Snake River location will allow us to enhance both our service and our responsiveness," said Chris Wolf, Director of Customer Service at Foss. Today, Foss serves regional, national and international customers in ports along the Pacific seaboard, Hawaii and Alaska, as well as across the globe, with a service center in Washington and Oregon, and two in California.

Foss Maritime announced today a partnership to establish the curriculum for a new marine engineering apprenticeship program, and to sponsor several applicants each year. Seattle Central College, Seattle Maritime Academy, the Maritime Institute of Technology & Graduate Studies-Pacific Maritime Institute and the Workboat Academy have received a $5 million American Apprenticeship Innovation Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help build a new apprenticeship program. Through the grant, more 150 engineers will be trained over the next five years, both in Seattle and Baltimore. The engineering program will mirror Workboat Academy's deck apprenticeship, now in its 10th year.

Representative employees of marine transportation company of Cook Inlet Tug & Barge Inc. (CITB) on Monday voted to reject a petition that would see a union organize to represent the company’s marine employees, CITB announced today. The employees rejected the petition from the Inland Boatman's Union (IBU) by a vote of 11-4, as tallied by the National Labor Relations Board in Anchorage, Alaska. "Cook Inlet Tug & Barge is gratified by the outcome of the election," said CITB president Scott Merritt,  "It was the right decision by and for the valued men and women at Cook Inlet Tug & Barge.

Hawaiian Tug & Barge, which provides harbor support services in all major ports of Hawaii, has adopted new colors and a new name: Foss Maritime Company. Founded by Young Brothers Ltd., Hawaiian Tug & Barge (HTB) was formed as a sister company to separate harbor operations and charter activities from Young Brothers' inter-island freight operations. HTB has since become Hawaii's leading tug and barge transportation company operating four tugs with 20 employees. Young Brothers and HTB joined the Foss Maritime group of companies in 1999.

Foss Maritime announced the addition of two tractor tugs to its Columbia River fleet, which will give the company more resources to serve a growing customer base at regional port facilities. The first of these 4,400-horsepower tugs will begin river operations as early as November. Captain Dustin Johnson, Regional Operations Manager, Columbia Snake River, added, "Existing grain and port facilities are experiencing new levels of business - and there are several development projects along both the Columbia and the Snake that are in various stages of approval.

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.

As the maritime industry enters a decade of change, next generation mariners like Sam Anderson will learn their chosen profession's safety and environmental skills at places like the Seattle-based Pacific Maritime Institute (PMI). Scott Merritt, Foss Maritime's senior vice president for operations, recently addressed Anderson and other graduating cadets of PMI's workboat mate program. The institute's two-year program was established specifically so young mariners can be trained for jobs even as today's deck officers reach retirement age.

The Foss Maritime Company has created three new management positions aimed at strengthening its safety, compliance and environmental programs. Frank Williamson has been promoted to vice president, safety, quality and general counsel. Formerly Foss’ general counsel, Williamson will take on new responsibilities in health, safety, compliance and quality assurance. He will oversee the team responsible for developing and implementing safety and environmental programs. Susan Hayman, who spearheaded the development of Foss’ hybrid-powered, low-emissions tug due to enter service this fall, will become vice president for environmental and corporate development.

Foss Maritime Company announced that it has agreed to sell selected assets, including two tugs and twenty barges currently operating on the Columbia Snake River system, to based Tidewater Barge Lines. Foss made the decision to sell selected assets in order to focus its efforts and investment in its strategic lines of business including ship assist, ocean towing and special projects. The sale will help the company maintain its strategic focus and standards of quality, said Scott Merritt, Foss’ Senior Vice President of Operations, citing the need for additional vessels and upgrades on its existing upriver tugs as contributing to the sale’s timing. “The most important thing for Foss is to ensure that we provide our customers with the highest quality service,” said Mr. Merritt.

Two Foss crews assisted firefighters from the Valero and Benicia Fire Departments to put out a fire on the Benicia Industry Dock on September 5. The Foss crew, trained in shore-side incident response, reacted quickly and joined the professional firefighters at the scene. “I am very proud of the individual and team effort demonstrated by our vessels and staff,” said Scott Merritt, regional director, San Francisco Bay. At 5 p.m., a fire broke out at the dock. By 11:30 p.m. it was still burning and threatening to collapse the Coke Loader and the old Huntway Dock operated by Valero. The Andrew Foss was standing by the dock when the crew noticed the flames and reacted by notifying the fire department and spraying water on the fire.