Tag Archives: F/V Pacific Producer
Ship with history of safety, pollution violations moored indefinitely in Tacoma
A 77-year-old fishing ship with a reputation of pollution and safety violations has been docked on the Foss Waterway in Tacoma since August after smashing into a private pier and raising concerns about its integrity. Its owner said he doesn’t know when it will leave. The fishing vessel Pacific Producer arrived at its current location on Aug. 29, according to a nearby condo resident. The 472 gross ton, 169-foot-long boat was built in 1946 and has been working in Alaskan waters until recently. It’s registered to East West Seafoods of Seattle. “Working in the Alaskan fishing industry – an occupation already regarded as one of the nation’s most dangerous – employees aboard the F/V Pacific Producer faced dangers purely of their employer’s making,” >click to read< 09:23
Seafood Processing Vessel’s Operator Continues to Expose Crews to a Bounty of Safety, Health Violations
Working in the Alaskan fishing industry – an occupation already regarded as one of the nation’s most dangerous – employees aboard the F/V Pacific Producer faced dangers purely of their employer’s making, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Coast Guard has found. An inspection by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration was initially opened in July 2022 in Kodiak, Alaska, but was delayed when the F/V Pacific Producer – a 472-ton seafood processing vessel – departed the port. Through coordination with USCG’s Sector Puget Sound, a joint inspection resumed when the vessel arrived in Seattle in October. Inspectors found murky, brown water in the ship’s drinking water system; crew members being served expired food; water used to process fish leaking into dry food storage and the galley’s dining area; and other unsanitary conditions throughout the vessel. >click to read< 21:27
Processor Fined for dumping oily bilge water and raw sewage in Kodiak Waters
A Washington processing company that owns a Kodiak-based vessel was sentenced in federal court to pay $50,000 in fines after the vessel illegally discharged raw sewage into Chiniak Bay and St. Paul Harbor in Kodiak. In addition, the primary operator of the F/V Pacific Producer was sentenced to a $10,000 fine. Both the operator and the company will serve five years probation. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Anchorage, East West Seafoods LLC was sentenced for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the Clean Water Act, and the Refuse Act, by intentionally discharging oily bilge water and raw sewage. East West owns the F/V Pacific Producer. The primary owner of the processing company and operator of the vessel is 78-year-old Christos Tsabouris of Kodiak. Read the story here 14:40
