Foss Maritime Wins Major Clean Air Award from Ports of LA, Long Beach

Company’s ‘corporate leadership’ cited in effort to reduce air pollution at the world’s fifth largest port complex

SEATTLE, July 16, 2007 – The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach today honored Foss Maritime Company, calling its innovative approach to reducing air pollution in southern California an outstanding example of corporate leadership.

Among Foss’ initiatives: Developing the world’s first hybrid tug, the Green Dolphin, a low-emission vessel that company officials expect to deploy in San Pedro Bay by the fall of 2008. Earlier this year, the federal Environmental Protection Agency gave Foss and the Green Dolphin its Clean Air Technology Award, the first time a marine operating company has ever received the honor.

“Foss is committed to reducing its carbon and emissions footprints and has undertaken major corporate initiatives to improve the air quality in Southern California,” said Richard Steinke, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach, in making the award presentation to Foss.

“Foss’ corporate color is green, which is symbolic because I believe it represents this organization’s thinking from top to bottom on the environment,” said Geraldine Knatz, Ph.D., Executive Director for the Port of Los Angeles. “Their innovative hybrid tug concept is a shining example of a company that has created a vision for greening their area of port operations.”

Susan Hayman, vice president for environmental and corporate development, accepted the award for corporate level leadership at the First Annual San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan – Clean Air Excellence Awards.

Foss announced in March 2007 that it was collaborating with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to build the Green Dolphin, part of the ports’ ongoing efforts to clean air in the region.

Industry analysts and environmental officials alike have praised the low-emission Green Dolphin. It reduces nitrogen oxide, particulate emissions, sulfur dioxide and carbon emissions and will exceed the EPA’s Tier 2 emissions requirement for marine engines.

Examples of other Foss environmental initiatives recognized by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach include minimizing waste streams on harbor tugs by using a vacuum truck service for their oily waste removal; and, completing an energy audit and developing an energy management plan to manage Foss vessels. Foss also uses vapor recovery systems on all of its ship bunkering barges in Southern California. Between mid 2003 and January 2008, the vapor recovery system on the Foss barges captured 38.6 short tons of volatile organic compounds that would have otherwise been released to the atmosphere in the Los Angeles/Long Beach basin.

Foss Maritime President and COO Gary C. Faber said, “We have developed a tremendous partnership with the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The pay-off is cleaner air. We will continue to innovate at Foss because we believe that environmental leadership comes with corporate leadership. That has certainly been the case with the Green Dolphin.”