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Foss and Damen to Construct Next Generation Ship Assist and Escort Tugs for the U.S. Market

November 28, 2017

Vessels to be built at the Foss Shipyard in Oregon SEATTLE, Wash. – Foss Maritime and Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to produce and market the Damen ASD 2813 tug. The tug design has been modified to meet the unique demands of the U.S. tug assist and escort market. The first four of a series of at least 10 tugs will be constructed at the Foss Rainier, Ore., Shipyard, with delivery planned for 2019. Above: Damen ASD 2813 escort/assist vessel with 6,800 hp and 90 ton bollard pull for the U.S. market. Below: Damen Shipyards Chairman Kommer Damen and Foss CEO John Parrott at the signing of the agreement. Foss and Damen have a vision of the next generation of ship assist and escort tugs, and by combining Damen’s long history of design and construction experience with Foss’ operational and shipbuilding expertise, this vision will be realized. While Foss will construct the tugs to supplement and enhance their fleet, tugs of this build series will be available for purchase by other U.S. tug operators. “This partnership supports our shared goals,” said John Parrott, Foss President and CEO. “It means, we can strengthen our fleet while meeting the demands of our customers, and at the same time Damen has the opportunity to market their innovative tug designs in the U.S.” “Working with Foss will enable us to strengthen our relationship while serving the North American market with state-of-the-art, cost-effective and dependable vessels,” said Jan van Hogerwou, Damen’s Vice President of New Construction North America. “We’re excited about this collaboration and look forward to working closely with Foss.” # # #

TOTE Maritime Partnering with Organizations around Puerto Rico to Provide Relief

November 17, 2017

San Juan, Puerto Rico –  Since Hurricane Maria hit on September 20^th, TOTE Maritime has delivered more than 17,000 containers of relief and commercial cargo to the island with an additional 2,500 containers scheduled to arrive in the next week.  This includes:

• more than 8,000 generators
• more than 4 million gallons of water
• 765,000 bags of ice

In addition to bringing vital goods to the island, TOTE Maritime employees in Puerto Rico have supported more than 20 organizations throughout the island and hosted community events each week to distribute food, fuel, water and other items necessary for day to day life.

Below are some of the main organizations TOTE Maritime has partnered with over the last two months to support diverse and critical relief efforts throughout the island.

Para La Naturaleza

Eduardo Pagán, Vice President of TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, together with Fernando Lloveras, Executive Director of Para la Naturaleza, joined efforts to support more than 800 families in four different areas of the Island: San Cristóbal community in the center town of Barranquitas; the Esperanza community in the north town of Manatí; Punta Pozuelo community in the southeast municipality of Guayama; and the Island of Culebra. Arriving early in the morning, employees gathered to prepare food for the community, and later distributed basic need products, groceries, an ice bag, bottled water boxes and 20,000 gallons of potable water to each family. The consumer goods company Unilever also supported this effort providing various hygiene and cleaning items for all the impacted communities. The collaboration will continue to support the communities until no longer needed.

“As soon as we received the offer from TOTE Maritime, we did not hesitate to add their efforts to the Community Fund Para la Naturaleza, which was created after Hurricanes Irma and María. We will continue to reach the communities most in need – the commitment we have with them is long term. In the first instance, we want to support them in their stabilization process, but beyond that, our interest is to help them create the conditions for stronger and more sustainable communities to emerge,” said Fernando Lloveras San Miguel, President of Para la Naturaleza.”

Para la Naturaleza is an organization that brings together all people who seek a sustainable future for Puerto Rico, facilitates transformative experiences in nature, conserves land of high ecological value, encourages the taking of responsibility for our natural resources and promotes public policy that would result in the protection of these natural resources. After the passage of Hurricane María the organization created the Para la Naturaleza Community Fund to bring aid directly to the communities directly around key ecological areas and support rebuilding efforts.

Centro Tau of the Ricky Martin Foundation

In mid-October, TOTE Maritime delivered containers filled with fuel, stoves and medicine on behalf of Monica Puig and Maria Sharapova who visited the island to distribute these items at the Centro Tau of the Ricky Martin Foundation in the municipality of Loíza.

“I am so thankful for the help that TOTE Maritime has given me with my relief efforts for Puerto Rico. To be able to have the supplies shipped to the island in such a fast, safe and efficient manner means the world to me and enabled to make it possible to hand out all these products to the people that needed it so badly” noted Ms. Puig, a Puerto Rican tennis player and the reigning Olympic champion.

P.E.C.E.S

TOTE Maritime has been collaborating with P.E.C.E.S. in the southeast town of Humacao. This organization fosters social, economic, educational development of individuals and communities in social disadvantage. The community received a donation and container transportation of 4,000 bags of ice from TOTE Maritime.

Hogar El Buen Pastor

TOTE Maritime donated meals, water, ice, adult diapers and cleaning and hygiene products in the elderly home El Bueno Pastor located in the city of Guaynabo, and impacting over 50 elderly people.

Elderly Task Force

In partnership with the Government of Puerto Rico, TOTE Maritime donated ground transportation to deliver products donated, such as canned fruits, juices and crackers for elderly around the island. These items were donated by different entities such as by Econo Supermarket, PRS, Mars, Unilever and Welch’s.

Hunger Fight Meals

TOTE Maritime employees from Jacksonville together with the Hunger Fight Meals organization prepared over 5,000 meal kit.  Each meal kit will feed a family of 4 and includes rice and beans, oatmeal and macaroni and cheese. The entity is focus on providing nutritious meals to children and families deemed food insecure and hungry and is partnering with a number of organizations interested in delivering meals to those in Puerto Rico.

TOTE Maritime – Supporting Employees and their families

As part of TOTE Maritime’s efforts to help the Puerto Rican people move forward, the company initially focused on providing basic necessities to each employee and their families including items such as electric generators, propane burners, battery fans and other critical items.

Even though all of TOTE Maritime’s employees in Puerto Rico were significantly impacted by Hurricane Maria, it was TOTE’s employees who identified urgent needs around the island and developed weekly programs for supporting various communities and diverse needs.

Together with its partners, TOTE Maritime is committed to meeting to the immediate needs of the island while also supporting the long-term regeneration of the island’s economy which is critical for the people and communities of Puerto Rico as they adjust to life after Hurricane Maria.

TOTE Maritime has served Puerto Rico and its communities for the last 35 years. With the world’s first liquefied natural gas powered ships serving the market, TOTE Maritime can provide twice weekly deliveries to the island.

73 Foss Maritime Vessels Honored for Environmental Excellence

November 15, 2017

Thirty-nine Vessels Recognized for 10+ Years of Incident-Free Operations SEATTLE— With a combined 877 years without an incident, 73 Foss Maritime and subsidiary companies’ tugs and tank barges have been recognized by The Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) for their environmental records. CSA announced the 2017 Environmental Achievement Awards on Nov. 8, 2017, in Washington, D.C.    The Edith Foss at work. Foss and its sister companies have 39 vessels with 10 or more years without an environmental incident, with 11 of those vessels achieving 20+ years of environmental excellence. The Edith Foss is one of the Foss Maritime vessels that have been free of environmental mishaps for more than 20 years. “This award underscores our dedication to the highest safety standards and care for the environment,” said John Parrott, Foss CEO. “These values are an important part of our corporate culture and what our customers demand. We live, work and play on the waters and in the communities we serve, so safeguarding the environment is a core responsibility, and we take pride in it.” The awards are open to all owners and operators of vessels that operate on oceans or inland waterways. “These awards celebrate the dedication to environmental excellence of our seafarers and the company personnel shore-side who operate our vessels to the highest standards,” said Kathy J. Metcalf, president of CSA, praising the award recipients for their commitment to serving as stewards of the environment. A list of the vessels receiving the 2017 Environmental Achievement Award is posted on CSA’s websitewww.knowships.org. Click on “News & Events,” then “Press Releases.”

TOTE Maritime Prepares for Largest Cargo Week since Maria

November 7, 2017

 Largest vessels currently in the trade, partnership with Pasha, and addition of barges combined with best-in-class telematics mean more than 3000 containers will arrive and be distributed this week

Jacksonville, FL – Since Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 19^th, TOTE Maritime and its employees have been working around the clock to get relief and commercial goods to the people of Puerto Rico. Certainly, the largest effort is underway in San Juan to ensure the smooth and efficient movement of containers off the ships, onto the terminal and into the communities. However, significant work is also being done on the mainland to maximize the amount of cargo available on the island now that roads and communities are more accessible.

This week in San Juan, TOTE Maritime will receive more than 3000 containers of relief and commercial goods for the island. These containers will arrive in San Juan on one five (5) different assets that TOTE Maritime is utilizing to support the island. This represents more than a 43 percent increase in TOTE’s Maritime’s weekly vessel capacity.

The increase in cargo delivery is a result of the addition of two barges to the TOTE Maritime fleet as well as a partnership between TOTE Maritime, Pasha Hawaii and Crowley Maritime – all Jones Act carriers – to increase goods being delivered to the island.

“TOTE Maritime has been working with a variety of partners to prepare for this increase in capacity” commented Tim Nolan. “For the first few weeks after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico would not have been able to handle more cargo than what we typically deliver to the island. Now that roads are more accessible and relief / rebuilding operations are in full swing we know the island is ready for this increase in goods.”

TOTE Maritime’s schedule for the week is as follows:

• November 6: Pasha’s Horizon Spirit departed Jacksonville for San Juan
• November 7: Columbia Boston (barge) arrived San Juan with 375 containers
• November 8: Isla Bella arrived in San Juan with 1062 containers
• November 10: Charlotte Bridge (barge) scheduled to depart Jacksonville
• November 11: Perla del Caribe scheduled to arrive in San Juan with 1048 containers

TOTE Maritime Increasing Service Offerings to Support Relief and Rebuilding

November 1, 2017

Company focused on ensuring consistent movement of cargo even though equipment is not being returned at normal pace

TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico loads the barge the morning of October 31.

Jacksonville, FL – TOTE Maritime is increasing its service offerings and customer support to meet a growing demand for services as part of the ongoing relief and rebuilding efforts in Puerto Rico.

TOTE Maritime is adding two barges to its fleet. The first barge departed from Jacksonville yesterday with 375 FEUs of cargo. The second barge is scheduled to depart early next week and will carry 350 FEUs of cargo.

“The addition of these barges to our service offering will allow us to better support the increasing and changing needs of Puerto Rico as relief, recovery and rebuilding goods are all being shipped to the island” noted Tim Nolan, President of TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico.

TOTE Maritime has also secured more than 2000 pieces of additional equipment for use in the trade. This is to ensure that cargo can continue to move quickly and efficiently despite the ongoing challenges with equipment availability. The additional equipment includes refrigerated containers, forty foot containers and flat racks for moving items such as utility trucks

Lastly, TOTE Maritime has been extending their gate hours in both San Juan and Jacksonville to support the additional cargo being moved and allow customers extra time to delivery vital relief goods. TOTE has partnered with a variety of other companies to facilitate the transportation of water and other vital goods to the island from its terminal in Jacksonville. These extended gate hours will allow more flexibility and access for all parties.

TOTE Maritime’s Perla del Caribe arrived on Saturday with more than 1090 containers of goods and the Isla Bella is scheduled to arrive Wednesday morning with close to 1100 containers of relief goods and commercial cargo.