Tag Archives: F/V American Dynasty
How an Ill-Fated Fishing Voyage Helped Us Understand Coronavirus
F/V American Dynasty, a commercial trawler, departed Seattle one day in May to fish for hake off the Washington coast. Before leaving, its 122 crew members were screened for the coronavirus using the highly accurate polymerase chain reaction (P.C.R.) method, and all the results came back negative. But because those tests are “good but not perfect,” they missed at least one case: Somehow SARS-CoV-2 found its way on board. When a crew member fell seriously ill, the vessel returned to port, and almost everyone was tested for the virus again,,, The finding is believed to be the first direct evidence that antibodies protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans, and it offers clues about what sort of concentrations might be needed to confer immunity. >click to read< 10:24
Seattle fishing boat outbreak suggests antibodies protect against coronavirus infection
Crew members from a Seattle-based fishing boat that experienced an explosive outbreak of the novel coronavirus have serendipitously provided what could be the first direct evidence that antibodies can protect people from reinfection. Blood samples collected before the vessel sailed in May showed that three of the 122 people aboard had robust levels of neutralizing antibodies, the type that block the virus from entering human cells, indicating they had been previously infected and recovered. All three were spared during the shipboard outbreak, which quickly spread to more than 85% of the crew. >click to read< 08:18
Coronavirus outbreaks keep sidelining vessels owned by one of Seattle’s largest fishing companies. No one’s entirely sure why.
It’s not surprising that fishing vessels would become potentially high-risk environments as the pandemic worsened. Like cruise ships, which became notorious Covid-19 hotspots in the early days of the outbreak, fishing trawlers tend to confine people in close quarters for prolonged periods of time. But several additional factors make fishing vessels susceptible to outbreaks: Living arrangements require people to cram into tight spaces together, sharing bunkrooms, dining areas, toilets, and other facilities. “These people are four to a room,” said Dr. Marisa D’Angeli,“They’re in bunk beds. They share a bathroom with the four people [in the] adjacent [room]—so eight people total. People don’t wear a mask when they sleep.” The work environment, which requires people to work closely together in wet, chaotic circumstances, is no less fraught with transmission opportunities. >click to read< 08:08
Crew of Alaska bound factory fishing trawler worries after company rejects more Coronavirus screening
American Seafoods will forgo additional COVID-19 screening of the Ocean Rover factory trawler, a move that has some crew worried and wanting more assurances the disease has not found its way onto the Alaska-bound vessel. American Seafoods has been buffeted in the past two weeks by test results from crews of three other vessels unloading frozen fish in Bellingham. Testing positive: 94 crew on the American Dynasty, four on the American Triumph and 21 on the Northern Jaeger, findings that rattled the North Pacific seafood industry, which is struggling to keep the virus off boats and shore-based plants as the busy summer harvest season approaches. >click to read< 18:48
American Seafoods screening 2 more crews after most on third vessel test positive for Coronavirus
The new round of testing involves the crews of the American Triumph and the Northern Jaeger as they dock in Bellingham, according to a company statement. “We’re conducting these tests out of an abundance of caution,” said Mikel Durham, the company’s chief executive. All three of American Seafoods’ vessels had been participating in the Pacific whiting harvest off the Northwest coast with large crews onboard to operate the vessels and equipment that processes and freezes the catch. Last week, a crew member of the American Dynasty tested positive and was hospitalized in Bellingham. A subsequent screening of other crew determined that 85 were positive. >click to read< 16:42
UPDATED: 86 crew members of F/V American Dynasty test positive for Coronavirus
Eighty-six crew members of the American Dynasty trawler that docked in Bellingham last week have tested positive for COVID-19, according to operator American Seafoods in a press release Sunday evening, May 31. Nine tests are still outstanding. The Seattle-based crew are not showing symptoms of the disease and stayed on the ship when it was in Bellingham, according to American Seafoods. The American Dynasty has returned to the Port of Seattle and is under quarantine, the press release said. >click to read< 07:22
Trawler docked in Bellingham testing 100-plus crew for Coronavirus after 1 hospitalized
More than 100 crew members of the American Dynasty trawler docked in Bellingham are being tested for COVID-19, a ship spokesperson said Saturday, May 30. One crew member from the American Seafoods fishing vessel tested positive for the new coronavirus and was admitted to St. Joseph hospital Friday, May 29, for treatment, according to a Friday evening news release from Whatcom Unified Command. The ship docked in Bellingham Thursday, May 26, according to unified command, the multi-governmental agency that’s directing local new coronavirus pandemic response. >click to read< 17:18
Coast Guard medevacs fisherman near Cold Bay, Alaska
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew forward deployed in Cold Bay, medevaced a man from the fishing vessel American Dynasty approximately 60 nautical miles north of Cold Bay, Thursday afternoon. The 59-year-old fisherman was hoisted and transported to Cold Bay where he was met by Guardian Flight personnel for further transfer to Anchorage. Watchstanders at Coast Guard District Seventeen received notification from Health Force Partners requesting a medevac for a crewmember aboard the American Dynasty who was suffering from symptoms of appendicitis. The duty flight surgeon recommended the medevac and the helicopter crew was dispatched. Weather on scene during the time of the medevac was reported as 20-mph winds with six to eight-foot seas and four miles of visibility. link 10:46
Canadian government to receive $3.1 million after U.S. fishing vessel plowed into the frigate
The incident happened in April 2013 in Esquimalt Harbour. The American Dynasty, owned by American Seafoods Co., was heading towards the graving dock for repairs when it accelerated and crashed into HMCS Winnipeg tied to a jetty. The Canadian government launched legal action against American Seafoods. The $3.1 million payment is an out of court settlement. The Royal Canadian Navy has not said how much repairs to HMCS Winnipeg cost taxpayers. Read the rest, five more images here 07:29
Coast Guard medevacs 48-year-old man 272-foot F/V American Dynasty near Cold Bay, Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak, forward deployed to Cold Bay, medevaced a 48-year-old man from the 272-foot fishing vessel American Dynasty approximately 95 miles northwest of Cold Bay, Monday. Read more here 10:52
American Dynasty Update. Power failure followed by an unexpected engine restart, Driving her right into HMCS Winnipeg
Looks like she’s smiling!
A power failure followed by an unexpected engine restart aboard an American fishing trawler occurred moments before it rammed a Canadian navy frigate in Esquimalt Harbour, near Victoria. continued
Security questions raised as trawler and warship are pulled apart after collision
Times Colonist -Damage suffered by a U.S. fishing trawler and a Canadian warship became more visible Wednesday after the two vessels were pulled apart and examined. Now investigators are looking at why the collision between American Seafoods Company’s 272-foot American Dynasty and HMCS Winnipeg occurred Tuesday morning in Esquimalt Harbour. continued
