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SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT

SAFETY

At Tidewater, we proudly stand by our policy of continually emphasizing safety in all aspects of the workplace. From our headquarters in Vancouver throughout our shoreside operations and to each individual boat along the Columbia, Snake and Willamette rivers, we make the extra effort to go above and beyond to ensure the safety of crew, cargo and the environment.

 

  • Tidewater operates under a comprehensive management system that puts the health and safety of our environment, our employees and the public first.

 

  • Instituted a comprehensive behavior based safety program to support our goal of incident free operations.

 

  • Ongoing staff training in safety and environmental safety procedure.

 

  • Appropriate Tidewater personnel complete annual Incident Command System (ICS) training (a standardized, on-scene, all-hazards incident management approach created by FEMA).

 

ENVIRONMENT
The most energy-efficient way to move commodities is on navigable rivers. Barges can move one ton of cargo 576 miles per gallon of fuel. A rail car would move the same ton of cargo 413 miles, and a truck only 155 miles. The emission comparison between inland towing, rail and truck transportation shows that fewer air pollutants are generated by moving products on our river navigation system. These pollutants include: Particulate matter (PM), Carbon monoxide (CO), Hydrocarbons (HC) and Nitrogen oxides (NOx).

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Tidewater is committed to being a good steward of the environment. Our goal is to do no harm and to have as light an environmental footprint as possible. We accomplish this by hiring the best people, providing the best training, equipment, and facilities, and by embracing a management philosophy of continuous improvement in all that we do.

 

  • Repowering boats with new EPA certified diesel engines that are quieter, burn less fuel and reduce carbon monoxide and particulate emissions.

 

  • Transported petroleum only in doubled-hulled barges since 2009, well in advance of the federally mandated deadline of 2015. (The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 set a mandate for the exclusive use of double-hull vessels in the transport of petroleum and other hazardous liquids by 2015).

 

  • Company-wide spill response and pollution prevention program that includes maintaining an emergency response team and spill response equipment strategically located along the river system, at terminals and on boats and barges.

 

  • Member of the American Waterways Operators Responsible Carrier Program. The Responsible Carrier Program Responsible Carrier Program is a set of safety, quality and environmental standards for the US tugboat, towboat and barge industry.

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