Foss Maritime Company: 1889 rowboat investment keeps growing.

• Author: Jaeger, Stephanie
• Position: TRANSPORATION SPECIAL SECTION

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

A used rowboat was the first vessel used by Foss, now an international transportation enterprise. Trying to increase her family's income in 1889, Thea Foss, a Norwegian immigrant living in Tacoma, Wash., bought a used rowboat, repainted it and then traded it for several smaller boats. She rented these out to fishermen, hunters and ferrying customers. Thea's fleet increased to 200 boats when she began to transport logs with towboats. During World War I, her business expanded and she bought interests in a Seattle towboat company. Thea died in 1927, but members of the Foss family continued to develop her business. In 1987, Saltchuk Resources Inc. bought the company. Foss Maritime Company, still an independent firm, operates around the world providing maritime services to places as diverse as the Pacific Rim, Europe, South America, Latin America, Alaska, the Russian Far East, all major U.S. West Coast ports, including the Columbia and Snake River systems. The company also has Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico operations.

Foss operates many types of barges, including deck, commodities, dredging, petroleum, crane and rail barges. Their fleet employs many types of ocean and tractor tugs. Foss transportation services include ship assists and escorts, bunker and petroleum transport, ocean and harbor towing, LNG (liquefied natural gas) operations, construction support and lighterage (the loading and unloading of ships using barges).

GOING GREEN

Working on the cutting edge of maritime technology, Foss recently built the world's first Green Assist[R] Hybrid Tug. Named the Caroline Dorothy, the hybrid uses diesel fuel when sailing and plugs into an electrical outlet while anchored to decrease its fuel consumption during harbor work. Foss also developed and built the ASD Z-Drive and Voith Schneider Propulsion (VSP) cycloidal tractor tugs that can control the world's largest tankers and freighters. Two full-service shipyards, one in Seattle and the second in Rainier, Ore., maintain and repair Foss's equipment, as well as build and service many types of vessels for other companies. Foss also provides naval architecture, marine engineering, project management, global transportation and logistics to its customers.

ALASKA BOUND

In addition to tug and barge operations, Foss has developed innovative solutions for transportation problems in areas without developed harbors and in extreme Arctic conditions. When GPS (global positioning system)...