At around 1:30 a.m. on December 28, F/V JUNO, a 131-foot, Westport-based fish processor, caught fire while moored at her pier. The JUNO master was on board at the time, but got off safely. No other crew were reported on board. It took until just after 4:00 a.m. for the…
Back on Saturday, November 9, 166-foot F/V ALASKA MIST experienced mechanical problems and became adrift about thirty miles of Amak Island, Alaska. Amak Island is located in the Bering Sea, north of the midway part of the Aleutian Chain. At first, the ALASKA MIST 22-member crew used a sea drogue…
Late Saturday afternoon, the crew of F/V NAT contacted the Coast Guard in North Bend, Oregon, with news that they were about to run aground on the south jetty of Yaquina Bay as they headed back to port after setting crab pots. The vessel did indeed ground there, and the…
Community Attributes, a Seattle-based research firm, has just released their “Washington State Maritime Cluster Economic Impact Study.” Maritime history in our region, most notably fishing and trade, began when the first people settled here many thousands of years ago, followed by European and American expansion, and since then, we’ve experienced…
Early on November 30, Clint Owens, 41, suffered a head injury aboard Beaufort, N.C.-based F/V SEA ANGELS when part of the rigging equipment struck him. The crew of SEA ANGELS contacted the Coast Guard around 7:00 a.m., as Mr. Owens’ symptoms included short-term memory loss, severe neck pain, jaw injury,…
On Friday, November 15, the weather was windy with high waves in Elliott Bay, Seattle. According to reports, a 30-foot dive survey vessel from Ballard Marine Construction, with five crewmembers on board, capsized in the waves, throwing all five into the frigid waters. The Coast Guard received the call at…
The 93-foot crab boat ARCTIC HUNTER ran aground shortly after leaving Dutch Harbor on November 1, 2013. The crab boat crashed onto the rocks near Morris Cove early Friday morning and remains partially submerged. Numerous vessels responded to the Mayday message with the SAGA SEA being the first on the…
The Federal Appellate Court for the Fifth Circuit has entered an opinion, McBride et al v. Estis Well Services, approving punitive damages for seaman in cases involving claims of unseaworthiness. The decision is one of the first Circuit Court decisions to address punitive damages availability in a Jones Act or…
American Seafoods Group, one of biggest commercial fishing companies involved in the Alaska pollock fishery, has sold their east coast seafood processing business, American Pride Seafoods. The sale to High Liner Foods was announced October 1, 2013. High Liner Foods reportedly paid $34.5 million for this subsidiary of American Seafoods.…
An injured crewman suffering from internal injuries has been airlifted from the 285-foot fishing vessel AMERICAN TRIUMPH. The vessel, part of the American Seafoods fleet, was fishing 30 miles west of Coos Bay off of the Oregon Coast Sunday. The unidentified crewman was listed as being 37 years old. The…
