Trident Seafoods Factory Trawler Catches Fire in Tacoma

Fire aboard the Kodiak Enterprise, April 8, as seen from inside the fire boat Zenith (South King Fire and Rescue)

PUBLISHED APR 9, 2023 5:10 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

On Saturday afternoon, a fire broke out aboard a Trident Seafoods factory trawler at Tacoma's Tideflats Port Facility, burning through the deckhouse and the wheelhouse. It is the second major fire aboard a Trident vessel in Tacoma since 2021. 

The fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday morning, according to the Washington Department of Ecology. The Tacoma Fire Department dispatched crews to the scene to combat the fire from the pier, and South King Fire and Rescue sent the fire boat Zenith to assist from the water side. The U.S. Coast Guard closed down the waterway to marine traffic for safety, and multiple layers of booms were installed around the vessel to contain any potential spill. 

South King Fire & Rescue

Washington State Department of Ecology

Washington State Department of Ecology

The Washington State Department of Ecology set up air monitoring to watch for potential health hazards from the smoke, and it found pollutant levels at or below the level of moderate concern. The agency advised communities downwind of the fire to avoid prolonged exposure outdoors. 

No injuries or water pollution have been reported. As of Sunday, the vessel continued to emit a substantial volume of smoke. 

Kodiak Enterprise is a 1977-built factory trawler, originally constructed as an OSV and converted into a fishing vessel in 1989. She had just returned from her most recent Bering Sea fishing voyage on March 25, according to AIS data provided by Pole Star.

Trident's second fire since 2021

The fire aboard Kodiak Enterprise is the second to affect a Trident fishing vessel in two years. In February 2021, the catcher-processor Aleutian Falcon caught fire at a shipyard in Tacoma during maintenance work. 

The 2021 fire broke out while Aleutian Falcon was under repair. A team of welders were cutting out a section of corroded steel on the bridge deck, and sparks or slag likely ignited a wooden bulkhead in an interior space below, according to the NTSB. The fire spread throughout the vessel, resulting in a $16.5 million total loss. 

Among other impacts, the fire damaged crane hydraulic hoses, resulting in a small 20-30 gallon oil spill. The spill drew Trident a $25,000 state fine.

"Investigators found the scope of the repair work [on Aleutian Falcon] was not adequately communicated between workers, supervisors, and officials ahead of time. While working, crews did not take proper precautions or follow national standards that would have prevented the fire," Ecology claimed in a statement about the 2021 fire. "Also, Trident did not report the vessel emergency within an hour of the onset of the fire, as required under law and the company’s spill contingency plan."

A SEAFOOD VESSEL WITH A HISTORY OF SAFETY AND POLLUTION VIOLATIONS MOORED INDEFINITELY IN TACOMA’S FOSS WATERWAY

Publisher Center | April 9, 2023 | Seafood | 

A 77-year-old fishing vessel has been docked in Tacoma’s Foss Waterway, which has a reputation for pollution and safety violations, since August after a private jetty broke and raised concerns about its integrity. His owner said he doesn’t know when he will be leaving.

The fishing vessel Pacific Producer arrived at its current location on August 29, according to a nearby home.

“This is a significant threat to the health and safety of our community and the surrounding environment,” said Melissa Malott, executive director of Community for a Healthy Bay, a Tacoma-based environmental advocacy nonprofit.

The 472-gross-ton, 169-foot-long vessel was built in 1946 and has operated in Alaskan waters until recently. Registered with East West Seafoods in Seattle.

An Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation was opened in July, but was delayed when the ship left Alaska for Seattle. On Jan. 12, OSHA cited East West for 20 violations, 17 of which were classified as “serious.” He imposed fines of $208,983 with abatement requested by Feb. 23.

“Working in Alaska’s fishing industry — an occupation already considered one of the nation’s most dangerous — employees of the F/V Pacific Producer faced hazards created only by their employer,” OSHA said in a statement.

OSHA Acting Regional Administrator Jack Rector said fishing workers depend on their employer for strong safety protocols.

“For more than a decade, our inspectors have found disgusting and dangerous conditions aboard the F/V Pacific Producer, and the well-being of the vessel’s crew is at great risk due to the negligence of its owner,” Rector said. “This employer’s blatant and ongoing disregard for the crew aboard the F/V Pacific Producer must end before tragedy strikes. The US Department of Labor and its federal partners will use their full enforcement powers to hold East West Seafoods and Christos Tsabouris to federal workplace safety standards to be held accountable for gross negligence and contempt.”

The regulations cover a wide range of standards including respiratory protection, fire protection, exposed wiring. hazard communication and ship components. All of the violations were reported by East West on Feb. 9, according to OSHA.

“Inspectors found dark, brown water in the vessel’s drinking water system; crew members are served expired food; Water used for processing fish that flows into dry food and galley feed; and other unsanitary conditions throughout the vessel,” OSHA said.

The US Coast Guard confirmed on Friday that it had revoked the Pacific Producer’s certificate of compliance, halting the East West’s operation until repairs are made.

CONFUSED HISTORY

Violations and fines are not new for the company and its owner since 2012, Christos Tsabouris.

The ship has had similar OSHA violations since 2012, including sanitation, electrical, fire hazards and an ammonia leak in 2018.

In 2017, East West Seafoods was fined $50,000 in federal court for intentionally dumping oily and dirty water from the Pacific Producer bilge into the ocean off the coast of Alaska.

He then submitted false records to the US Coast Guard.

The spill violated the Ship Pollution Prevention Act, the Clean Water Act and the Waste Disposal Act, according to the Department of Justice.

East West Seafoods was placed on five years of probation and Tsabouris was fined $10,000 and sentenced to five years in prison.

In a brief phone interview Wednesday, Tsabouris said he could not move the boat “because of legal paperwork,” but denied any involvement in the OSHA violation.

“We’re still working on it, so we don’t have anything concrete yet,” he told The News Tribune.

Tsabouris, who said he lives in Tacoma, moved the boat to the Foss Waterway because he couldn’t find a mooring in Seattle. He said he plans to return to service as a seafood processor.

MOORED IN TACOMA

According to a tenant at the nearby Petrich Marine Dock, the vessel arrived there on August 7, smashed against a dock.

“There were 10 people on deck screaming at each other and then they came in too fast,” said Freddy Neumayer, who witnessed the arrival. “It was pandemonium.”

The Pacific Producer, a large fishing vessel shown on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, has been tied up at the old Martinac shipyards on the Thea Foss Waterway in Tacoma since August. The ship is 77 years old, nearly 200 feet long, and has a history of environmental and safety concerns and fines.

Marina owner and 20-year Tacoma Port Commissioner Clare Petrich said Tsabouris has yet to repair or pay for the damage. The Pacific Producer was docked at its dock for less than two weeks before returning to Commencement Bay, Neumayer said.

On August 29, the ship returned to the Foss Waterway, this time at the old JM Martinac Shipyard at 401 East 15th Street.

During the ship’s first visit to Fosse in August, the Pacific Producer’s antenna reportedly clipped the 11th Street Bridge. According to the city, inspector Chad Norman found no structural damage to the bridge during a later inspection.

THE ROLE OF THE CITY

The City of Tacoma does not regulate boat traffic; that is the jurisdiction of the state and the Coast Guard. The city regulates the installation of moorings and harbor infrastructure in accordance with its coastal code. That is what an inspector from the city’s Planning and Development Service attended on March 20.

The inspector found that an illegal floating dock had been added to the site, in violation of city code.

“Employees will coordinate with state agencies to work to correct the violations,” the City said in a statement. “The next steps would be to get the necessary permits for the floating docks/moorings or remove those docks.”

ECOLOGY

The State Department of Ecology has no jurisdiction over ships, except for sinkings, spills or discharges that may cause accidents. Sometimes they include the deliberate illegal dumping of fuel, oil, sewage and other fluids.

The agency is not proactively involved with the vessels, said Ty Keltner, a spokesman for the DOE’s emissions prevention program. Instead, the agency responds to reports of contamination.

“We can’t proactively ban someone or take some kind of action just because they’re there,” Keltner said.

DOE is aware of the illegal dock installed for Pacific Producer, DOE spokesman Jeff Zenk said.

“We will provide technical assistance and support to the city of Tacoma,” Zenk said. “The city of Tacoma would be the one to enforce that.”

According to Secretary of State records, East West last filed as a corporation in November 2021. The office stated that the annual report was due on March 1, 2023. East West has a history of late annual reports. at least 2018

East West’s business address is a private mailbox rental service in Seattle.

Pacific Producers has been raising concerns with Communities for a Healthy Bay since the vessel’s arrival in August. The group said it notified the U.S. Coast Guard and the city of its concerns.

“It is important that the authorities take action and remove the vessel from our waters before it causes further damage,” Malott said.