When Sandy struck New York and New Jersey in October 2012, Foss applied lessons learned from the 2010 Haiti earthquake. A year after Hurricane Sandy struck America's East Coast, the federal government has honored Foss Maritime Company for its part in critical relief work. Vice Admiral Mark D. Harnitchek, director, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), made the award to the Seattle-based company during a ceremony at the agency's headquarters, citing its ability to quickly move personnel and equipment to devastated, hard-to-reach locations in New York and the New Jersey shore.