Eighty Foss Maritime Vessels Honored for Environmental Excellence in 2013

Vessels have gone two years or longer without environmental incidents, winning coveted Chamber of Shipping honor

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  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.

Rear Admiral Joseph Servidio presents Susan Hayman of Foss the award for environmental achievement. Photo by Barry Champagne

Rear Admiral Joseph Servidio presents Susan Hayman of Foss the award for environmental achievement. Photo by Barry Champagne

Altogether, the 80 Foss vessels recognized by CSA have gone a combined 816years without an environmental incident. That’s an average of more than 10 years per vessel.

“Safety is woven into Foss’ corporate culture,” said Paul Stevens, president and CEO of the Seattle, WA-based company. “When our customers talk with us, safety and the environment come up early in discussions. To have 80 of our vessels singled out by the Chamber of Shipping for environmental achievement underscores all our efforts at Foss.”

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Joseph A. Servidio, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy, participated in the award ceremony and congratulated the work performed by Foss and 75 other maritime companies – a total of 1,431 vessels.

Joseph J. Cox, President and CEO of CSA said, “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. In today’s world, it seems our industry only gets front-page news when spills or other environmental problems occur. It is encouraging to see how many vessels go for years achieving environmental excellence. It should be clear to the American people that we in the maritime industry take our stewardship of the marine environment very seriously.”