Arthur Foss

Arthur Foss, built in 1889, originally named Wallowa, is one of the oldest wooden-hulled tugboats afloat in the United States. In 1898, in response to the Alaskan gold rush, she transported barges full of gold-seeking miners and supplies up the Inside Passage. There are no other Alaskan Gold Rush vessels still operating today. She was cast by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio to play in its 1933 production Tugboat Annie.

In February 1941 Arthur Foss was sent under charter agreement with Contractors, Pacific Naval Air Bases to Wake Island for construction of harbors and air bases. In March she was joined by Justine Foss at Wake. Arthur Foss, under Captain Oscar Rolstad, was assigned the task of towing barges loaded with supplies and construction equipment from Honolulu and was returning to Honolulu with two 1,000 ton barges and twelve hours out of Wake when the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor was received. Painted white and highly visible the ship was a likely target standing "out like a chain of coral islands on the empty sea" and, despite some discussion of heading for Alaska, the ship continued to Pearl Harbor under radio silence. The ship was spotted by naval scout planes and escorted into Pearl Harbor 28 December 1941 where Admiral Claude Bloch cited the crew for action beyond the call of duty. Arthur Foss was the last vessel to escape Wake Island before Imperial Japanese forces captured the island on 23 December 1941. She thus escaped the fate of Justine Foss that was captured, forced to serve Japanese purposes and then scuttled with members of her crew executed along with many of the other civilian contractors held captive. Arthur Foss was acquired by the US Navy in 1942, renamed Dohasan and designated YT-335 and later YTM-335. In 1946 the tug was returned to Foss Towing and Barge Co. and renamed Arthur Foss.

In 1948 the tug was assigned the task of towing log cribs and later bundled log rafts in the Strait of Juan de Fuca continuing this work until retirement in 1968 to set the record for the longest uninterrupted log-towing service in the Straits.

Arthur Foss has a six-cylinder, 700 hp diesel engine. Her top speed is 13 kn. The vessel is 111.6 ft long with a beam of 23.9 ft and a draft of 15 ft. When last operated the vessel was owned by Foss Launch and Tug Company (now Foss Maritime) who donated her to Northwest Seaport in 1970. Northwest Seaport renovated her in 2004. The vessel was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989 and is a city landmark as well. and a featured attraction at Seattle's new South Lake Union Park. The vessel is open for public tours on most summer weekends, or by appointment.