beach california genre tug barge and towing founded 1889 1 founder thea foss andrew foss headquarters united states owner saltchuk website http www.foss.com foss maritime formerly foss launch and tug company is an american shipping company . the company was founded in 1889 by thea foss 1857 1927 and her husband andrew foss . the company is now the largest tug and towing concern on the west coast of the united states . july 2 2013 foss marine holdings announced that effective at that date it merges all of its operations and resources under a single name foss maritime company . 2 contents 1 foss maritime 2 course of business 3 company history 4 early vessels 5 bay area 6 family 7 current officers 8 hybrid technology 9 other new developments 10 awards 11 other 12 references 13 further reading 14 external links foss maritime edit foss was founded in 1889 by thea foss in tacoma washington where thea started out buying a single rowboat for five dollars and painting it white with green trim . she sold and rented out boats to appealing crowds of fishermen for 50 cents a day . thea tripled her profit and then sold it for fifteen dollars . her easy profit boosted her business confidence to begin a full round tugboat company . her signature styling of a tugboat was having white coating with a green trim around the skirt . this gave the foss family the finances they needed to propel into a functioning business . during this point of time they used many of their rowboats for ferrying purposes . in 1904 their family owned name became transformed into the foss launch and tow co. today foss is one of the top maritime companies known on the west coast . they continue to revolutionize maritime business with their green innovative ideas . course of business edit the foss concern began with a single rowboat which thea foss rented to crews of vessels in tacoma . 3 under the management of thea foss and the foss family the company then branched out into sailboats naptha launches gasoline engined vessels and scows and barges . when thea foss died in 1927 the company owned 27 gasoline diesel and steam powered vessels and numerous unpowered barges . arthur foss ; 1899 in 1916 foss launch and tug company bought captain o.g. olson s tacoma towing business including the steam tugs echo elf and olympian . foss tug dieselised their fleet c. 1930 . in this way they were in a better position to weather the depression . their small competition either went under or were bought out . during the second world war foss tugs were seconded to the us navy to fight in the pacific . tugs were needed to help the navy in the south pacific ; in the north pacific with the aleutian campaign ; in alaska with the alaska highway . more tugs were built in the emergency program and these became available after the war . foss tug would buy and sell used tugboats and name them with a member of the family . many famous tugs from the seattle area have been renamed for a foss . the condition of the vessel and the amount of work contracts at the time dictated ownership . foss owned several miki class tugs . in the post war years large pulp mills were built around puget sound as were large bridges . these provided work for the tugs . cement chemicals pulp aircraft fish and the cold war with the dew line in alaska provided work . the north slope oil boom continued the work for tugs after 1968 . by this time foss had expanded to deep sea work and had become harbor tugs in san francisco and los angeles . foss maritime has 90 tugs and an equal number of barges . company history edit when the foss co. actually transformed from a family rowboat business to a tug boat business their possibilities became endless . in the early 20th century the foss company had numerous amounts of people renting out their boats for certain types of jobs . recreationally foss s rowboats became the top choice for the people of washington who wanted to go fishing or hunting . since the logging business was one of the top jobs in tacoma s plush area foss got in contract with many logging companies . since the beginning foss co. had been suiting to the people s needs . when foss got into the logging business they constructed a tug that towed logs down rivers such as the puyallup river . in 1914 during the first world war foss was called into service by the united states to assist and aid distressed vessels in and out of port . foss co. serviced many battleships by towing them out into the sea from port . after the war foss financially took interest in a tugging company in washington and became more popular than they already had . 4 the foss family continued to run and develop the family business after thea s death in 1927 . in 1987 the company saltchuk resources inc. bought foss maritime . 5 the family owned company is still an independent firm but it is owned and run by saltchuk . the meaning of saltchuk is a language developed by traders in the pacific northwest . 6 saltchuk manages and operates in the pacific rim europe south america latin america alaska the russian far east the united states atlantic gulf of mexico west coast ports and colombia and snake river systems . since saltchuk bought foss maritime the company has switched from a little business to an internationally operated business 7 early vessels edit foss maritime started out only with rowboats with their signature white and green trim paint . sooner than later foss started expanding their venue of work . they saw what the people of washington wanted so they expanded to developing towing tugs . some of their first powered vessels were built by the hands of the foss family itself . her first power vessel was the st. patrick a steamer that operated in the commencement bay . the steamer ran aground and was fully rebuilt by thea s carpenter husband . the boat was then sold for another steamer . their second powered vessel was lizzie a. this was one of the worst boats the foss family ever owned and quickly sold the unreliable vessel for 500 . one of the most important ships this is still seen today in the puget sound area is the vessel called hope . this was a naphtha fueled vessel that solely operated rafting giant douglas fir logs in the sound area . 8 bay area edit on september 1 1993 it was decided that foss maritime would be providing tug services in the san francisco bay area . the agreement with the bay area and foss maritime was that they would have to maintain a pool of vessels and barges at ready for tug barge escort docking and assist services . foss maritime in the bay area have the name foss seariver providing future tanker support . today foss provides three large conventional seariver tugs and one foss cyclodial tractor tug . the foss seariver tug office is located at 150a west industrial way benicia ca 94510 1016 . 9 family edit thea was not alone in her business . foss became a family run business when thea s three sons arthur weddell and henry foss assisted her with the production and process of becoming a fully equipped business . 8 current officers edit paul stevens president and ceo gary c. faber svp marine transportation hybrid technology edit in recent times foss maritime has been working on lowering their nox and carbon dioxide emissions . foss constructed a hybrid tug caroline dorothy to reduce atmospheric pollution . their hybrid craft cuts down as much as 44 % of harmful emissions dispersed into the atmosphere . 10 the boat idles only 7 % of the time . the hybrid tugboat uses diesel power when under sail and recharges the hybrid batteries when anchored reducing fuel consumption . during other times the hybrid tug is battery powered . the boat has both hybrid and diesel power working on the same drive shaft . this hybrid craft operates on two different fuel systems . when the tug needs power it switches to diesel . while it is using diesel the power generated by the propeller charges the craft s hybrid system . citation needed in july 2013 foss announced to retrofit a third tug . other new developments edit foss maritime developed and built an asd z drive and voith schneider propulsion cyclodial tractor tugs . 7 these tugs can control the world s largest tankers and freighters known today . awards edit in 2008 the united states coast guard awarded foss maritime its most prestigious environmental honor for developing the low emission hybrid tugboat green dolphin . the award was the william m. benkert gold award for their impact on the environment . earlier in june 2008 foss won the environmental protection agency s clean air excellence award also for their green tug . foss also received a commendation environmental award from bp shipping and an honorable mention for the 2008 port of seattle environmental business of the year award . 11 foss has maintained their green technology . recently the company has been working on bringing a sister ship hybrid tug into the ports of los angeles and long beach . 12 other edit thea foss the founder of foss maritime was the inspiration for the 1933 feature length movie called tugboat annie and also a tv show with the same title . references edit foss maritime career foss unifies all operations under single name pdf . foss maritime company press release . 2 july 2013 . newell gordon r ed . 1966 . h.w. mccurdy marine history of the pacific northwest . seattle superior publishing co. p. 392 . company history . foss maritime company . retrieved april 17 2012 . not in citation given saltchuk home page . saltchuk resources inc. retrieved 2013 07 23 . saltchuk resources inc. . hoover company records . retrieved april 23 2012 . subscription required help . a b jaeger stephanie . foss maritime company 1889 rowboat investment keeps growing . alaska business monthly . retrieved april 23 2012 . subscription required help . a b long priscilla january 11 2003 . thea foss launches the future tugboat firm on the tacoma waterfront in the summer of 1889 . history link . sacco sam . foss maritime and seariver maritime inc. to provide bay area tug services . business wire . retrieved april 23 2012 . subscription required help . foss will convert tractor tug to hybrid power pdf . tow bitts . 23 3 3 . september 2010 . foss maritime company ; foss maritime receives highest honor for environmental stewardship . anonymous . resource week . retrieved april 23 2012 . subscription required help . arctic oil & gas directory foss maritime hybrid tug on way to california . petroleum news . 17 14 . april 1 2012 . further reading edit fowler chuck and freeman mark tugboats on puget sound arcadia press 2009 isbn 0 7385 5972 5 newell gordon r. pacific tugboats superior publishing seattle wa 1957 newell gordon r. ships of the inland sea superior publishing co. seattle wa 2nd ed . 1960 skalley michael foss ninety years of towboating superior publishing seattle wa 1981 isbn 0 87564 224 1 external links edit official website v t e united states flag shipping companies ship operators apl farrell lines hapag lloyd usa intermarine maersk line limited matson inc. overseas shipholding group sealift transatlantic lines waterman steamship corporation tug and barge operators bouchard transportation crowley