A lawsuit has been filed against North Pacific Seafoods after approximately 150 seasonal cannery workers were forced to quarantine without pay in a Los Angeles hotel. According to the complaint, all workers arrived at a hotel and were instructed to wait together in a crowded hallway to fill out paperwork.…
It is with great sadness that we report the deaths of two people killed early Monday morning after the F/V AQUARIUS collided with a jetty on the Siuslaw River Bar. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector North Bend received a distress call at about 1:50 a.m. from the captain of the…
Approximately 110 crewmembers from three American Seafoods ships have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The F/V NORTHERN JAEGER is docked at the Seattle cruise ship terminal while sick crew members recover. Others are in quarantine after exposure, many in Seattle area hotels. As of today, the F/V AMERICAN TRIUMPH, and F/V…
STACEY & JACOBSEN, PLLC represents the two survivors in the SCANDIES ROSE sinking. The vessel owner (Scandies Rose Fishing Co., LLC) and the vessel manager (Mattsen Management LLC) have filed a Petition for Limitation of Liability in Federal Court Seattle. The vessel owner and manager initiated legal action arguing that…
When fishermen or crewmembers are injured or perish in accidents at sea—due to negligence or carelessness by the vessel’s owner, another crewmember, captain, or skipper—Jones Act Law requires that the injured party be compensated. But what happens when vessel owners work to find ways around paying out what wrongfully-injured workers…
In a press release issued last night, American Seafoods has reported that 86 crewmembers have tested positive for COVID-19, and nine more crewmembers are still awaiting results. It was reported that one crew member became ill and was taken to a hospital while the ship was docked in Bellingham. That…
Bornstein Seafood in Astoria, Oregon has closed until further notice due to an outbreak of COVID-19. Clatsop County Public Health began an investigation on May 4, 2020, after an employee at Bornstein Seafood tested positive for the deadly virus. More than one-third of 35 employees tested on Monday were positive…
Salmon fishing season is about to begin, but nothing is business as usual this year. In just a few weeks, about 400 fishermen and processing workers will arrive in Cordova, Alaska for the opening of King Salmon and Copper River Sockeye season. The town of Cordova has a full-time population…
A 43-year-old man was medevaced after sustaining severe burns while aboard the F/V BOUNTIFUL. The vessel was located approximately 46 miles southwest of Saint Paul, Alaska at the time of the injury. Watchstanders received the call at approximately 9:56 a.m. that a crewmember had been severely burned. After a brief…
We are deeply saddened by the recent news of the sinking of the F/V SCANDIES ROSE in Alaskan waters. We have been practicing maritime law for over 35 years and have handled dozens of sinking cases. Yet, the news of such a disaster is always shocking, tragic, and heartbreaking. The…