decemberAugust 2016 2006 / / volume volume 29 19 issue issue 4 4 FOUR NEW TUGS HEADED FOR HAWAII Young Brothers, Ltd., a Honolulu-based inter-island freight carrier, will be getting a major fleet upgrade beginning in the first quarter of 2018 with the delivery of the first of four new ocean-going tugs. The high-powered, 123-foot-long vessels will be built by Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana. Young Brothers is a wholly-owned subsidiaryMore of Foss than Maritime. any 12Details months on page in 5. the recent history of our com- a holiday greeting: pany, 2006 was a year in which Foss Maritime moved forward strategically in all areas of our business. JOHN PARROTTStrategic Moves in 2006Foss Maritime Company Chief until the end of 2016, when he Operating Officer John Parrott took will move to Foss’ parent company, We believe that new courses charted in our harbor services, NOW AT AlignTHE UsHELM with This Mission:over the role of president of Foss Saltchuk, and serve as senior vice marine transportation/logistics and shipyard lines of business, Provide Customers withMaritime Services on August 1, assuming president and managing director, OF FOSS MARITIME while not without risk, will further the growth and success of that are Without Equalresponsibility for the day-to-day working on special projects. operations of the company.the company for decadesParrott, to come. who Continued came to insideFoss as COO Former President, Paul Stevens, in January of this year from sister will retain the title of CEO of Foss company TOTE Maritime Alaska, (Continued on page 4) always alwayssafe • always ready ready Looking Back: Successfully Sailing through Challenges, Opportunities Fleet Infusion in Hawaii Young Brothers Ltd., Foss’ freight-carrying By Paul Stevens assist tugs, two of subsidiary in Hawaii, has ordered four Chief Executive which are hybrid- new ocean-going tugs. It’s an investment Officer electric powered, the of just over $80 million that will improve Since this will first of their kind in the company’s ability to provide regular be my final Lines the industry. cargo service to island communities. contribution, I will Rainier is now Cover and Page 5 use it as a time to building the third reflect on the last of three Arctic Class Cyber Security at Foss 13 years leading ocean-going tugs, Are Foss and its computers vulnerable to Saltchuk’s tug and 132-foot-long, ice- hackers, ransomware perpetrators and other barge investments. strengthened vessels designed to help cyber criminals? Information Technology There is no doubt we have had us continue our growth in serving the Director Bob Hoover and his staff are our challenges, from a severe global oil and gas industry, particularly in increasing their efforts to protect the recession to a significant West Coast remote areas like eastern Russia and company from online attacks. Also, General port disruption. In spite of this, Foss the Alaskan Arctic. Counsel Lam Nguyen-Bull writes about and its sister companies successfully At U.S. Barge in Portland, we an attempt to bilk Foss out of more than navigated through these challenges built four new cargo barges for $400,000 using phony emails. and were able to adapt and change Young Brothers, Ltd., our Hawaiian Pages 6 and 7 to remain both profitable and freight carrier. And just recently, we Clip-and-Stick Chart Corrections competitive. We grew our business, announced plans to build four new A Maryland-based businessman, now expanding to Alaska, and through tugs for Young Brothers to support the a Foss vendor, found a niche in the maritime our projects business, expanding company’s on-time service, reliability industry by making clip-and-stick patches internationally. and efficiency. (See article on page 5.) for charts to reflect weekly government Through a series of evolutions So many changes. And now, one corrections on buoys, lights and other aids culminating three years ago, all of our at the top. to navigation. towing operations were consolidated Our succession planning also was Page 9 under the Foss brand. The efficiencies underway amidst all of this activity. Rowers in the Ocean gained through this consolidation Now I hand the reins of the company California Maritime Academy graduates made operations smoother and, to John Parrott. While officially Todd Bliss and Rick Leach, in a Foss- I believe, more competitive. retiring at the end of the year, in the sponsored rowboat, recently completed a Our Operational Excellence new year I will be working on special 2,400-mile race from California to Hawaii. Program, fully embraced by our projects for Saltchuk. Their 54-day journey gave them a third-in- employees, has made our workforce The toughest part of any succession class finish in the Great Pacific Race. safer and is a key element of our is leaving the people you care about, Page 11 corporate culture. and I will miss the wonderful So many changes. And while our employees of the Foss Family. I’m corporate structure was evolving, we confident John has the experience were building new boats and barges, and talent to take the company to the To submit articles for Tow Bitts, expanding our project business, and next level, and I wish him continued please contact Bruce Sherman, editor, upgrading and modernizing our success at the helm of Foss. [email protected], or Sonja business systems. With support from I want to thank our owners, Baron, coordinator of production, our owners, we invested well over employees, customers and vendors for [email protected]. The Tow Bitts graphic $300 million. all their support. designer is Barbara Hoberecht. Tow Bitts Our Rainer Shipyard, formerly For me, it’s been quite a ride. is published six times a year by Foss Maritime for employees, customers and a sleepy little repair yard, built friends. Changes to the Tow Bitts mailing 10 Dolphin Class vessels, highly list should be referred to Rebekah Lay, maneuverable and very powerful ship (206) 381-5805 or [email protected]. 2 • Foss Tow Bitts • ALWAYS SAFE • August, 2016 Foss Connects with Industry ‘Rock Stars’ Looking Back: Successfully Sailing At Huge Shipping Conference in Athens through Challenges, Opportunities Be there or be square. new generation That’s the rule for the world’s of owners.” largest shipping industry conference, Foss is represented called Posidonia, held every other in Greece by year in Greece. This year the Navigator Shipping conference was held in early June at Consultants in the Metropolitan Exhibition Center in Athens. Danae Athens and was attended by 33,500 Bezantakou is people from 1,825 companies. managing director Foss Maritime was represented by of the company and Commercial Director Jeff Horst and her father, Dimitris Senior Sales Manager Conti Coluntino. Bezantakou, is From left at the conference in Athens were Conti Coluntino of Foss, Horst noted that Greek ship owners the founder and Danae Bezantakou of Navigator Shipping, Jeff Horst of Foss and Dimitris control 60 percent of the global president and a Bezantakou of Navigator Shipping. shipping tonnage and are the rock former ship captain. stars of the conference and financial “They know all of the ship and provides steamship and travel superstars in their country, where owners; they are so well connected agency services. most sectors of the economy are in in that country,” Horst said. “Foss Horst said that Navigator holds its the tank. and Navigator have a successful own conference in Greece every year, “We want to protect our customer partnership for strong representation.” which Foss attends on the Posidonia base, and we want to maintain our In addition to representing Foss off years. relationship with these shipping for U.S. West Coast harbor services, “It’s important for us to keep companies,” Horst said. “Most are Navigator represents Moran Towing expanding our relationships,” family-owned and will be passing for the East and Gulf coasts. The Horst said. the baton to their kids. It’s important company also represents firms that we stay in touch with the throughout Europe and South America TRADE GROUP RECOGNIZES 73 FOSS VESSELS FOR SAFETY PERFORMANCE The Chamber of Shipping of the equivalent of 562 years of incident- America (CSA) has recognized free operation. Sixty-one vessels had 73 vessels of Foss and its subsidiary five or more years, and eighteen companies with the 2015 Jones F. vessels boasted 10 to 22 years without Devlin award for outstanding a lost-time injury. safety records. “This year, awards were conferred The Jones F. Devlin Award is one on 1,522 vessels that operated 10,084 of two award programs CSA has years without a lost-time incident,” sponsored since 1968. The award is said Kathy Metcalf, CSA President. The crew of the Southern California tug Carolyn Dorothy given to self-propelled merchant “This extraordinary record is directly recently received their Devlin Award for operating six vessels that have operated for two full attributable to the professionalism of years without a lost-time injury. From left are years or more without a crew member our seafarers and the dedication of Engineer Bobby Davis, Capt. Ryan SanJose, Port involved in a lost-time incident. It shore-based company personnel to Capt. Guy Beckwith and Able Seaman Larry Alva. publicly recognizes the skill and dedi- safe operation. These mariners are cation of the men and women who are the front line in ensuring the safe and this is evident in everything we do. responsible for safe vessel operations. environmentally responsible operation We’re constantly improving and add- The 73 Foss vessels were recognized of the vessels on which they serve.” ing to our safety programs, training, at the CSA Annual Safety Awards “Foss does not take safety lightly,” resources and operations.