The fishing vessel Alaska Ranger, which sank last month west of Dutch Harbor had aboard both a captain and a fishing master. Tragically neither survived the sinking. Some of the testimony from crew members has been regarding the relationship between the two. From the Seattle PI coverage of the hearings in Seattle on the sinking of the Alaska Ranger:
Crewman David Hull also told the panel that he believes that the “fish masters” — crew members representing the fish buyer, in many cases Japanese-held companies, responsible for maximizing the catch — often countermanded ship captains working for the Ranger’s owner, Seattle-based Fishing Company of Alaska.
At the company, Hull said, vessel captains can be fired if they don’t follow directions given by the fish masters.
“I don’t want anyone to underestimate the power the Japanese (fish masters) have at FCA,” Hull said. “Honestly, the fish master basically runs the ship. That’s how it stands,” he added.
The Seattle times reported in an earlier article, that crewmembers interviewed testified that:
the relationship between Konno and a previous skipper of the Alaska Ranger was fraught with tension over vessel speeds through ice.
The article reports that the fishing master and the captain at one time had a “yelling match” regarding vessel speed in the ice.
Fishing vessels in Alaska, a demanding, sometime dangerous environment, are faced with balancing results, catching fish and delivering them to port, vs risk, pushing crew and vessel to the limit. How often does this result in yelling matches at sea, fishing master vs captain?
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This post was written by Kennebec Captain who is Master of a large Ro-Ro and graduate of Alaska Maritime Academy where he attended classes at all four campuses: Bering Sea, Aleutian Island, South East and the Gulf. He can also be found at his blog Kennebec Captain.
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6 responses so far ↓
1 Brian // Apr 20, 2008 at 6:48 am
Sounds like the offshore drilling company Transocean and their relationship between the drilling superintendent-OIM and the Captain. They just bought out my company (GSF) and frankly I’m worried.
2 Kennebec Captain // Apr 20, 2008 at 10:01 am
Brian -I was not aware of the situation you describe but it does sound similar. The bottom line is that the final say must go to the person whose phone is going to ring when things go wrong - the captain’s
3 Ben @ Trees Full of Money // Apr 21, 2008 at 12:30 am
I’d be worried to Brian! I’m on the Transocean “legacy” side lol, the master/oim relationship can get “interesting” sometimes.
I have witnessed many colorful exchanges between the two positions over the last couple of years!
4 Ben @ Trees Full of Money // Apr 21, 2008 at 12:32 am
Other interesting situations
Derrick Barge Captain vs Crane Supervisor
Cruise ship captain vs cruise director
5 Maritime Monday 107 | gCaptain.com // Apr 21, 2008 at 6:37 am
[…] Ships - Past, Present & Futurecap. marof on IMO NumbersBen @ Trees Full of Money on Sinking of the Alaska Ranger - Fishing Master vs CaptainBen @ Trees Full of Money on Sinking of the Alaska Ranger - Fishing Master […]
6 The Coast Guard’s Most Extreme Rescue - Alaska Ranger | gCaptain.com // Jun 22, 2008 at 4:45 am
[…] to visit our previous Alaska Ranger Coverage including commentary by Kennebec Captain titled “Sinking of the Alaska Ranger - Fishing Master vs Captain“. Then read Popular Mechanics full article which can be found […]
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