The stories behind the Saltchuk family of companies
Merrilee Gorman is ‘deeply concerned with doing the right things the right way.’ Vessel Operations Manager Merrilee Gorman began her career at Tropical Shipping 38 years ago as a File Clerk in Accounting. “When I first started at Tropical, it
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President Jeff Johnson: ‘independent streak’ of Alaskans fuels culture of advancement Cook Inlet Tug and Barge (CITB) crews meet the return of winter this month armed with a series of mariner-engineered safety improvements aimed at addressing the inherent dangers of
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Tropical Shipping Shipside Operations Supervisor Robert Ackley is a 2021-2022 Saltchuk Safety Award nominee after a series of pinch-point finger and hand injuries led to co-creating a tool that allows the company’s stevedores to hold lifting cables away from cargo,
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Jesse Richardson and Jay Schram, both managers at Foss Maritime, were nominated for a 2021-2022 Saltchuk Safety Award for recognizing the need for and implementing new equipment into the company’s seasonal lighterage operation, located 200 miles above the Arctic Circle
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Project Manager Carly Remm has proven to be a great asset for Foss Atlantic, having successfully triaged many of the safety issues encountered during the reactivation of a fleet of dilapidated vessels, returning (to date) five vessels back into safe
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As a new hire to Foss Maritime, Leray Leasure was nominated for a 2021-2022 Saltchuk Safety Award for stepping up to address safety issues within the company’s Columbia Snake River fleet. During the past two years, he’s championed improvements in
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Cook Inlet Tug & Barge Mate Eric Nyce was nominated for a 2021-2022 Saltchuk Safety Award for his help in planning, installation and testing of a Man Overboard recovery winch that is mobile and portable to any side of a
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Foss Maritime Regional Operations Manager Ed Ehler was nominated for a 2021-2022 Saltchuk Safety Award for working directly with customers and crew to make sure progress toward safer operations takes place. “This is not easy, and it is time-consuming,” said
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Foss Maritime Project Manager Michael Loomis is a 2021-2022 Saltchuk Safety Award Nominee. He recently oversaw the contract/project management and execution of the final sea voyage of the USS Kitty Hawk under tow by the Michele Foss, a journey spanning
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Paul Hendriks: ‘As leaders, we should always remind ourselves of what it’s like to stand in the shoes of the people who do the work.’ As Foss Maritime’s Director of Marine Assurance, it’s Capt. Paul Hendriks’s job to make sure
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Ben Ostroff: ‘I believe in giving decision-making power to the people closest to the operation.’ In the weeks following the completion of Ben Ostroff’s first semester at Pitzer College—a top-ranked liberal arts school near Los Angeles where Ostroff was planning
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Jack Hagey, Chief Engineer onboard the Stacey Foss, created the “Hagey Handler,” a tool designed to assist deckhands with heavy or frozen lines. Foss Maritime Chief Engineer Jack Hagey is the winner of the 2020 Saltchuk President’s Award for Innovation
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In the final installment of a nine-part Q&A series, TOTE Services Chief Mate Patrick Leahy answers questions about his life, career, and nomination for this year’s awards. Patrick Leahy, Chief Mate of the UNSN Fast Tempo and USNS Wheeler, refused
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