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Foss Maritime Vessels Receive Safety Award

June 22, 2016

Seventy-three Vessels Recognized for Years of Safe Operations

SEATTLE, Wash. – The Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) has recognized 73 vessels of Foss Maritime and their subsidiary companies with the 2015 Jones F. Devlin award for outstanding safety records.

The Jones F. Devlin Award is one of two award programs CSA has sponsored since 1968. The award is given to self-propelled merchant vessels that have operated for two full years or more without a crew member involved in a lost-time incident. It publicly recognizes the skill and dedication of the men and women who are responsible for safe vessel operations.

The 73 Foss vessels were recognized at the CSA Annual Safety Awards Luncheon held this year on June 8 in New Orleans. Altogether, the Foss and subsidiary company vessels achieved the equivalent of 562 years of incident-free operation. Sixty-one vessels had five or more years, and eighteen vessels boasted 10 to 22 years without a lost-time injury.

“This year, awards were conferred on 1522 vessels that operated 10,084 years without a lost-time incident,” said Kathy Metcalf, CSA President. “This extraordinary record is directly attributable to the professionalism of our seafarers and the dedication of shore-based company personnel to safe operation. These mariners are the front line in ensuring the safe and environmentally responsible operation of the vessels on which they serve.”

“Foss does not take safety lightly,” said Paul Stevens, Foss president and CEO. “We carry a deep obligation to the safety of our people and the environment, and this is evident in everything we do. We’re constantly improving and adding to our safety programs, training, resources and operations. We want every one of our valuable people to return home safely, and we do all that we can to make sure that happens.”

A list of the vessels receiving the award is posted on CSA’s website www.knowships.org. Click on “Press Releases”.

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ABOUT FOSS MARITIME

Founded in 1889, Seattle-based Foss Maritime offers a complete range of maritime services and project management to customers across the Pacific Rim, Europe, South America and around the globe. Foss has one of the largest fleets of tugs and barges on the American West Coast. The company has harbor services and transportation operations in all major U.S. West Coast ports, including the Columbia and Snake River system, Hawaii and Alaska. Foss operates two shipyards and offers worldwide marine transportation, emphasizing safety, environmental responsibility and high-quality service. See www.foss.com for more information.
ABOUT CSA

The Chamber of Shipping of America represents 31 U.S. based companies that own, operate or charter oceangoing tankers, container ships, dry bulk vessels engaged in both the domestic and international trades and companies that maintain a commercial interest in the operation of such oceangoing vessels. Current members include companies that own or operate U.S. flag or foreign-flag ships. A company owning or operating only foreign-flag tonnage must have an office in the United States to qualify for membership.

Foss Maritime Center provides 24/7 service, enhancing safety and shoreside services to Saltchuk companies’ maritime fleets

June 7, 2016

Foss expands services to Foss Maritime Center in Portland

Portland, OR. – Foss Maritime has expanded services offered at its Portland terminal and dispatch center, now called the Foss Maritime Center (FMC), to include a 24/7 call center with fleet monitoring and weather service capabilities.

On June 1, the FMC opened to support Foss’ international fleet of tugs and marine assets as well as the maritime fleets of sister companies TOTE Services and Tropical Shipping.

The expansion, the result of a collaboration of Saltchuk companies served by the FMC, included a renovation of Foss’ Portland offices located on the shores of the Columbia River and the addition of staff trained to enhance safety and situational awareness of maritime fleets operating around the globe.

While a vessels’ master remains the final authority on all operational decisions, the FMC Staff are specially trained to use multiple information sources to keep Mariners and those who support them well ahead of potential hazards and provide actionable information to support decision making. Emergency calls to the Call Center will be forwarded to designated points of contact within the companies’ shoreside operations.

“The Foss Maritime Center allows us to standardize and enhance support for the Saltchuk family of companies,” said Foss Maritime President & CEO Paul Stevens. “We’re taking state of the art technology and pairing it with our own experienced and dedicated staff – this is a natural extension on Foss’ promise of ‘Always Safe, Always Ready.’”

Features of the Foss Maritime Center include:

24/7 Watch Stander – Call Center staffed by professional mariners. The call center will have the ability to immediately see the vessels location, its route, and the prevailing weather conditions.
Fleet Monitoring to collect information through automated situational alerting and Watch Stander observation.
Weather Monitoring will be provided by enhanced weather tools for information, monitoring and rerouting support.

Foss Maritime Honored for Safety Performance

March 3, 2016

ILWU Marine Clerks Local 52 present first ever safety award at the PMA ILWU Annual Safety Banquet

SEATTLE, WA.- Foss Maritime has been recognized by the ILWU Marine Clerks Local 52 for zero injuries at Terminal 5 between March 2015 and February 2016. The first-ever Safety Award given by ILWU was presented to Foss and partners Shell and Jones Stevedoring at the ILWU’s Annual Safety Banquet held in Sea-Tac, Wash. yesterday.

“We are extremely honored by this award,” said Paul Stevens, CEO and president of Foss. “It’s a real credit to the hard work of our dedicated Foss employees and also to our stevedore partner Jones Stevedoring, and to the trust of our customer, Shell.”

Terminal 5 is the second largest terminal in Seattle, Wash. and offers a variety of equipment and services to support intermodal, break bulk and project cargoes. It is a unique location as it can be accessed by deep sea vessels, by barge, by rail and by truck. By the close of 2015 Foss had accumulated about 168,000 people hours at Terminal 5, without an injury.

“I really can’t say enough about how great it was to work with the whole Foss group at the terminal. In my 20-year career at Jones I can’t think of another single customer that has had such a positive impact on our organization,” said Rob Bohlman, vice president of Jones Stevedoring. “From the first day at Terminal 5, Foss, Shell and Jones worked hard to establish a safety culture that went above and beyond the normal safety practices on the waterfront. And it goes without saying that without the efforts of the ILWU, and the support of Shell, none of this would have been possible.”

Max Vekich of the ILWU Local 52 Labor Relations Committee in a letter announcing the award said, “Local 52 members embrace being part of Foss’ Always Safe, Always Ready culture.”

“It says an awful lot when your efforts are appreciated by those who are impacted the most, and when they see positive results from those efforts. Well done Foss and your team,” said Dale Snyder, vice president of Alaska Operations for Shell.

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ABOUT FOSS MARITIME

Interstate to receive fleet safety award

January 26, 2016

TCA awards Interstate for safety performance in Large Carrier Division

Tacoma, WA – The Truckload Carrier Associate recognizes each year the top fleets in North America for safety performance based upon the least amount of DOT recordable accidents per million miles driven. TCA has announced that Interstate has received the 2^nd place award in the Large Carrier division that run 100 million miles a year. This award is based on overall organization, training, supervision, accident investigation, inspection, equipment maintenance, outside activities and general highway safety. Scott Manthey, VP of Safety at Interstate, says “We received this award because a lot of people are doing things right.”

In the trucking industry, safety is priority, therefore being recognized for this program is our highest honor. “Striving toward becoming the Best Trucking Company in America requires being the safest fleet, first and foremost. I’m extremely proud of the effort of all our associates working together to accomplish this great performance in 2015,” stated Interstate CEO Marc Rogers.

Seventy-five Foss Maritime vessels receive safety award

June 8, 2015

Achieving More Than 500 Combined Years of Safe Operations

Both hybrid tugs the Carolyn Foss and Campbell Foss achieved five or more years of safe operations.

SEATTLE- The Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) has recognized 75 Foss Maritime vessels with the 2014 Jones F. Devlin award for outstanding safety records.

The award is given to self-propelled merchant vessels that have operated for two full years or more without a crewmember losing a full turn at watch because of an occupational injury. The Jones F. Devlin award publicly recognizes the skills and dedication of the hardworking men and women who are responsible for those safe vessel operations.

The 75 Foss vessels were recognized at the CSA Annual Safety Awards Luncheon held this year on May 28th in New Orleans.

Altogether, the Foss vessels achieved the equivalent of 529 years of incident-free operation. Sixty-three vessels had five or more years, and ten vessels boasted 10 to 21 years without a lost-time injury.

“Foss takes safety very seriously,” said Paul Stevens, Foss president and CEO. “The safety of our people and the environment are always our top concerns, and this is evident in all of our operations. We’re proud of our safety programs, intensive trainings, resources and operations. We believe that every person has the right to return home safely at night, and we do all that we can to make sure that happens.”

ABOUT THE CHAMBER OF SHIPPING OF AMERICA
The Chamber of Shipping of America represents 31 U.S. based companies that own, operate or charter oceangoing tankers, container ships, dry bulk vessels engaged in both the domestic and international trades and companies that maintain a commercial interest in the operation of such oceangoing vessels. Current members include companies that own or operate U.S. flag or foreign-flag ships. A company owning or operating only foreign-flag tonnage must have an office in the United States to qualify for membership.