Ships have gone two years or longer without environmental incidents, winning Chamber of Shipping honor

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 2, 2009 – For 17 years, the Arthur Foss, a tugboat operated by the Foss Maritime Company, has been free of environmental mishap.

So have the Drew Foss and a dozen other Foss vessels.  In fact, 67 vessels owned by Foss and three subsidiaries are being recognized by a major maritime organization for their standout environmental safety records.  The Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) is honoring the Foss vessels along with vessels from three Foss subsidiaries - Gulf Caribe Maritime, American Cargo Transport, and Constellation Maritime.

Altogether, the Foss vessels feted by CSA have gone a combined 685 years without an environmental incident.

“Safety and concern for the environment are cornerstones of Foss’ corporate culture,” said Gary Foss, the company’s president and COO.  “Even in these hard economic times they are at the forefront of our efforts.  Our customers deserve nothing less.”

Foss was honored at a dinner ceremony in Washington, D.C., with the awards presented by the U.S. Coast Guard commandant, Adm. Thad Allen and CSA Chairman Michael Bohlman of Horizon Lines. Capt. Jim Halloran accepted awards on behalf of Foss, and Susan Hayman, Vice President, Environmental and Corporate Development, accepted awards on behalf of Foss’ subsidiaries.

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 Chamber of Shipping of America represents 30 U.S. based companies that either own, operate or charter oceangoing tankers, container ships, dry bulk vessels engaged in both the domestic and international trades and companies that maintain a commercial interest in the operation of such oceangoing vessels. Current members include companies that own or operate U.S. flag or foreign-flag ships. A company owning or operating only foreign-flag tonnage must have an office in the United States to qualify for membership.

(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.: Nov. 30, 2009) As produce farmers across the Americas gear up for the peak winter produce season, Crowley has added 400 new refrigerated containers to its fleet to accommodate their needs.
 
The 40-foot containers were delivered last week at Puerto Limon in Costa Rica and will be distributed throughout the Central American countries Crowley serves within the next couple of weeks. The state-of-the-art units were purchased to accommodate future growth and to replace older units.
 
The new Carrier PrimeLINE™ containers offer one-of-a-kind scroll compressor technology (inspired by the chamberednautilus shellfish), making them very efficient and reliable. Plus, they use environmentally friendly refrigerants and use 16 to 20 percent less energy than earlier models. 
 
"Our customers expect Crowley to provide not only great customer service, but also the highest quality equipment - consistently made available when and where they need it," said John Hourihan, Crowley's senior vice president and general manager of Latin America services. "The investment in these 400 new refrigerated containers ensures our customers have efficient, reliable and an even more environmentally friendly method of transportation."
 
Since 2003, Crowley has invested almost a quarter of a billion dollars in cargo equipment for its liner services fleet.
 
Today, the company owns and leases more than 44,000 pieces of specialized equipment, including more than 20,394 chassis, 18,280 dry containers and more than 3,000 refrigerated containers - all of which come in a variety of sizes and are strategically located throughout the U.S., Central America and the Caribbean.

Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 117-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family and employee-owned company. The company provides diversified transportation and logistics services in domestic and international markets by means of six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean Liner Services, Latin America Liner Services, Logistics Services, Petroleum Services, Marine Services and Technical Services. Offered within these operating lines of business are the following services: liner container shipping, logistics, contract towing and transportation; ship assist and escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response through its TITAN Salvage subsidiary; vessel management; vessel construction and naval architecture through its Jensen Maritime subsidiary; government services, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales. Additional information about Crowley, its subsidiaries and business units may be found on the Internet at www.crowley.com.