Foss Tugs Lead their Ports in Safety Inspections

By Grant Johnson                                                                                                                                                                     Vice President, Health, Safety, Quality and Environment

Earlier this month both the Michele Foss (Seattle) and the America (San Francisco) were the first vessels in

Grant Johnson

their home ports to receive a Certificate of Inspection from the U.S. Coast Guard under the new 46 CFR “Subchapter M” regulations.

The new regulations originated from Congress’ “Coast Guard and Marine Transportation Act of 2004” which called for the introduction of a full safety inspection regime for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry with the goal of elevating safety standards.

As of July 20, 2018, nearly 14 years later, “Subchapter M” has come into full effect and requires tugs to be inspected for compliance with the new regulations and that they obtain a U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection (COI) indicating compliance with the new regulations.

Since the inception of this regulation Foss has monitored the rulemaking process to ensure its current policies and procedures were in compliance. Further, Foss has made an agreement with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to provide third-party auditing and Safety Management System (SMS) verification services under Subchapter M.

Over the next four years, the phase in period for Subchapter M, the remainder of Foss fleet will obtain their Certificates of Inspection.