Sign in

Private company

Foss Maritime

Logo: foss.com3

Shipping company based in Tacoma, Washington, U.S.

Foss Maritime (formerly Foss Launch and Tug Company), is an American tugging 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.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1889Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Brynn Foss tugboat
Photo: Kevin Collins from Alameda, California, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Foss Maritime (formerly Foss Launch and Tug Company), is an American tugging 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.2

Corporate structure

Foss Maritime sits at the top of its group. 3 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Founded by Thea Foss in 1889.1

The Foss concern began in 1889 with a single rowboat which Thea Foss rented by the day in Tacoma, Washington while her husband Andrew, a builder, was working on a construction project. At the end of the building, the Fosses realized that Thea's boat had made them more money than Andrew's carpentry. They acquired more boats and soon began operating larger vessels, branching out into sailboats, naptha launches, gasoline-engined vessels, and scows and barges. By 1916 Foss Launch and Tug Company bought Captain O.G. Olson's Tacoma towing business, including the steam tugs Echo, Elf, and Olympian. When Thea Foss died in 1927, the company owned 27 gasoline, diesel, and steam powered vessels, and numerous unpowered barges.

From Wikipedia’s article on Foss Maritime, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Leadership

Who has led Foss Maritime, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Products and brands

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.

In July 2013, Foss announced to retrofit a third tug.

From Wikipedia’s article on Foss Maritime, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1889Founded Founded1

Funding

Where the company's money came from, by calendar year: private offerings filed with the SEC, federal grants, loans, contracts and other assistance from USAspending.gov, and PPP loans from the SBA. Each bar links to the records below.

Money received by year$64.0M 2008–2026
Money received by yearMoney received by year, 2008–2026: $64.0M in all. Federal grants $583.4K; Federal contracts $63.4M.$0$10M$20M$30M2008 · Federal contracts: $1.1M20082009 · Federal contracts: $695.3K2010 · Federal contracts: $7.8M20102011 · Federal contracts: $2.2M2012 · Federal grants: $578.4K2012 · Federal contracts: $3.6M20122013 · Federal contracts: $2.8M2014 · Federal contracts: $1.6M20142015 · Federal contracts: $4.6M2016 · Federal contracts: $2.5M20162017 · Federal grants: $5.0K2017 · Federal contracts: $23.0M20182019 · Federal contracts: $3.5M2020 · Federal contracts: $28.2K20202021 · Federal contracts: $439.8K2022 · Federal contracts: $554.3K20222023 · Federal contracts: $1.5M2024 · Federal contracts: $2.2M20242025 · Federal contracts: $927.7K2026 · Federal contracts: $4.3M2026
Without federal contracts$583.4K 2012–2017
Without federal contractsWithout federal contracts, 2012–2017: $583.4K in all. Federal grants $583.4K.$0$200K$400K$600K2012 · Federal grants: $578.4K2012201420162017 · Federal grants: $5.0K2017
Figures by year
YearFederal grantsFederal contractsTotal
2026–$4.3M$4.3M
2025–$927.7K$927.7K
2024–$2.2M$2.2M
2023–$1.5M$1.5M
2022–$554.3K$554.3K
2021–$439.8K$439.8K
2020–$28.2K$28.2K
2019–$3.5M$3.5M
2017$5.0K$23.0M$23.0M
2016–$2.5M$2.5M
2015–$4.6M$4.6M
2014–$1.6M$1.6M
2013–$2.8M$2.8M
2012$578.4K$3.6M$4.2M
2011–$2.2M$2.2M
2010–$7.8M$7.8M
2009–$695.3K$695.3K
2008–$1.1M$1.1M

Federal awards

Obligated amounts from USAspending.gov6, by calendar year, 2008–2026, for its registration. Obligations are what agencies committed, not always what was paid out. Contracts pay for goods and services; grants, loans and direct payments are assistance. Loans are charted at the face value of the loans listed here. An award’s amount below is its lifetime total, and some began before the years charted.

Largest grants

  1. Mar 16, 2012$578.4K from Maritime Administration: Assistance To Small Shipyards7 To FOSS MARITIME COMPANY, LLC. Award MA-SG-12-07

Largest contracts

  1. Sep 19, 2017$24.1M from Federal Emergency Management Agency: Foss maritime vessel will provide housing accommodation for fema first responder and survivors of hurricane irma and maria.8 To FOSS MARITIME COMPANY, LLC. Award HSFE7017C0203
  2. Oct 1, 2009$9.0M from Department of the Navy: Ocean transportation between port hueneme and san nicolas island.9 To FOSS MARITIME COMPANY, LLC. Award N0003309C5207
  3. Mar 23, 2010$3.5M from U.S. Coast Guard: Contractor shall provide personnel, vessels, equipment and supplies to assist with phase ii response operations as directed by the federal o10 To FOSS MARITIME COMPANY, LLC. Award HSCG8410JVYG013
  4. Feb 28, 2019$2.8M from USTRANSCOM: S&rts seattle terminal 511 To FOSS MARITIME COMPANY, LLC. Award HTC71119F8269
  5. Jun 9, 2026$2.1M from Department of the Navy: Rimpac sinkex tow mission12 To FOSS MARITIME COMPANY, LLC. Award N3220526P5164

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
    Company websiteFoss Maritime logo
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12