FOSS MARITIME CONTRACTS WITH LLOYD’S REGISTER TO CERTIFY THE FIRST TUG IN NORTH AMERICA WITH A GREEN PASSPORThttp://www.foss.com/

Lifelong inventory of vessel’s materials to aid safer and more environmentally sound scrapping of ships and promote better hazard management

SEATTLE, August 20, 2008 – Foss Maritime Company has contracted with Lloyd’s Register North America, Inc. to obtain a Green Passport certification for its low emission Hybrid Tug as part of its ongoing commitment to safeguarding the environment. The vessel, which will be the first tug in North America with a Green Passport certification, is being built at Foss’ shipyard in Rainier, Oregon, and is scheduled to begin operation in southern California in fall 2008. The tug design was awarded the EPA’s 2008 Clean Air Excellence Award for Clean Air Technology.

The Green Passport is a document that contains an inventory of all the materials onboard a ship that may be hazardous to people’s health or the environment, and that require careful handling or special awareness. The record accompanies the ship throughout its operational life. Every five years, it is reviewed and recertified. At the end of the ship's life, it helps the ship recycling yard to formulate a safe and environmentally friendly way of decommissioning the ship.

“We are committed to being proactive in our efforts to safeguard our people and the environment. Obtaining a Green Passport is one way we can promote better hazard management on the vessels, and help protect the environment when it’s time to decommission the vessel,” said Susan Hayman, VP of Environmental and Corporate Development. “Most important, it keeps environmental and safety issues top-of-mind for all of us.”

One of the biggest advantages of the Green Passport is safety onboard, ensuring that everyone is aware of potentially hazardous materials and that proper attention is paid to hazard and safety management systems.

"Lloyd's Register is pleased to work with Foss as it takes another meaningful step toward improving its safety and environmental practices," says Gopalakrishnan Pallichadath, Principal Surveyor and Green Passport coordinator for Lloyd's Register North America. "We applaud Foss for its decision to obtain the Green Passport for its leading edge hybrid tug and look forward to being part of the company’s ongoing commitment to safety and good environmental stewardship.”

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) issued Guidelines on Ship Recycling to improve the standards of safety and reduce environmental pollution resulting from the scrapping of ships in 2003. The guidelines introduced the concept of the Green Passport.
In the past year, Foss has implemented a number of environmental and safety programs. The Hybrid Tug is one of its initiatives to improve energy efficiency and air quality. Last year, Foss also announced a company-wide switch to ultra low sulfur diesel fuel to reduce emissions of particulate matter and carbon dioxide. Foss is a member of SmartWay Transport® Partnership, a voluntary collaboration between EPA and the freight industry designed to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing air pollution.

Founded in 1889, Seattle-based Foss Maritime offers a complete range of maritime services and project management to customers across the Pacific Rim, Europe, South America and around the globe. The company has harbor services and transportation operations in all major U.S. West Coast ports, including the Columbia and Snake River system. With one of the largest fleets of tugs and barges on the American West Coast, Foss operates two shipyards and offers worldwide marine transportation, emphasizing safety, environmental responsibility and high-quality service. See www.foss.com  for more information.

The Lloyd’s Register Group is an independent, risk-management organization that works to help improve its clients’ quality, safety, environmental, and business performance throughout the world. Its expertise and activities cover railways, shipping, oil and gas, and other asset-based industries. The Group comprises charities and non-charitable companies, with the latter supporting the charities in their public-benefit goals. For more information about Green Passport, contact Gopalakrishnan Pallichadath at 954-236-8366 or email gopalakrishna.pallichadath@lr.org. See http://www.lr.org/  for more information about Lloyd’s Register.

Rainier company's hybrid tug quietly moving ahead

The Daily News

Sept. 9, 2008

By Erik Olson

RAINIER — Foss Maritime Co. is hoping to make a lot of noise in the shipping industry with a one-of-a-kind hybrid tug boat that travels with nearly no sound.

“When this thing pulls away from the dock, it will be silent,” said Rick McKenna, project manager at the company’s Rainier shipyard, where the tug is being built.

Workers are slated to finish construction this fall of the tug boat, which is powered by diesel fuel and electricity, said Susan Hayman, vice president at Foss, whose headquarters are in Seattle.

The hybrid technology is expected to cut fuel costs by about 30 percent, Hayman said. The 9-ton battery will need to be replaced about every 2 1/2 years at a cost of $75,000, McKenna said.

The $8 million boat is headed for Southern California in January to begin guiding large ships, Hayman said. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach contributed $2.2 million to the project with the idea of reducing pollution in the already smoggy air, she said.

The hybrid tug costs about $2 million to $3 million more than a regular diesel tug, which is why most ship manufacturers have been hesitant to jump into the hybrid market without knowing how it will work, Hayman said. The 300-ton hybrid is also 15 tons heavier than the standard tugboat because of the additional power generators, she said.

“I think a lot of people are waiting until it gets into the water,” Hayman said.

The high cost of building the hybrid tug from scratch means another won’t be coming soon, she said. But Foss will start looking at adding the hybrid technology to existing diesel, and the company is willing to build hybrid tugs for other companies, she said.

“This yard built a good boat, and we’ll build them for someone else,” Hayman said.

The key breakthrough for Foss engineers came when they realized the tug spends about 65 percent of its time idling, which allows the engine to shift to electric power for much of that time, Hayman said. Piloting the boat will be the same for crew, Hayman said, save one major difference.

“That’s going to be the biggest thing for them to get used to — the quiet,” Hayman said.

The 78-foot-long hybrid tug is the 10th and final member of Foss’s Dolphin line. Foss announced its intentions to build the boat in April 2007, though the idea had been kicked around for the past seven years, Hayman said. Construction of the boat began in January, she said.

In addition to the new hybrid tug, Foss has stated it will build four 128-foot oceangoing tugs in the Rainier yard for its sister company, Hawaiian Tug & Barge. The company has added 26 employees at the Rainier shipyard, for a total of 50, to handle the additional work, Hayman said.

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Photo by Roger Werth, The Daily News