The Project:

Foss Maritime, working in conjunction with federal agencies, assisted in the complex escort and docking of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Sea-Based X-Band Radar or SBX-1. Through careful planning, Foss tugs guided the vessel in Hawaii as it moved to open water, then later met the SBX-1 about 50 miles outside the Strait of Juan de Fuca and carefully escorted the valuable vessel to Port Angeles, WA, and through Elliott Bay to Vigor’s Seattle shipyard, where the SBX-1 would undergo maintenance and upgrades.

Services Provided:

  • Harbor Services
  • Ship Assist and Escort
  • Project Logistics
  • Voyage Planning

Highlights:

  • The SBX-1 is made for high winds and heavy seas. It is 389 feet long, has a maximum beam of 276 feet, and a height of about 250 feet.
  • In planning the logistics, Foss Operations Manager and a Foss Captain rode with a Marine Pilot taking the SBX-1 to sea to observe the vessel’s handling characteristics.
  • Foss tugs assisting in the move included the Pi’ilani and Mikioi in Hawaii, and the Lindsey Foss, Pacific Star, Henry Foss, and Wedell Foss in the Puget Sound.
  • The entire transit was executed without incident and took 27 hours at 6 knots.
  • The escort and docking of the SBX-1 was performed under security restrictions as stringent as those for Air Force One.