77-Year-Old Fish Factory with Troubled Past Suffers Ammonia Leak in Washington

The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to an ammonia leak aboard a 77-year-old fish processing vessel with a history of health and safety violations.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s 13th District said it was working with the Washington State Department of Ecology to locate the source of leak on board the F/V Pacific Producer in Tacoma, but added that there is no immediate threat to the public. Air quality in the area is being monitored and personnel in HAZMAT suits are working on board the vessel.

Built-in 1946, the Pacific Producer is a 169-foot seafood processing vessel registered in the United States and owned and operated by East West Seafoods based in Seattle, Washington. The latest AIS data from the vessel shows it arrived in Tacoma in August 2022.

In February, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommended nearly $209,000 in penalties against the company after a federal investigation that included the U.S. Coast Guard revealed numerous health and safety hazards on board, including contaminated drinking water, expired food, and dangerous electrical and fire hazards.

OSHA initiated its inspection of the vessel in July 2022 in Kodiak, Alaska, but was delayed due to the vessel’s departure. It was resumed in Seattle in October 2022 with the help of USCG’s Sector Puget Sound.

Inspectors discovered unsanitary conditions on the ship, including murky drinking water, expired food being served to crew members, and water used to process fish leaking into food storage and dining areas.

OSHA found that employees were exposed to dangerous electrical hazards on the vessel due to damaged and improperly installed equipment, broken outlets, ungrounded extension cords, and exposed wiring. The vessel also lacked a required fire suppression system, exposing the crew to fire hazards.

On January 12, 2023, OSHA cited East West Seafoods LLC and owner Christos Tsabouris for 2 repeat serious violations, 17 serious violations, and 1 other-than-serious violation. The agency proposed $208,983 in penalties.

East West Seafoods has a history of unsafe operations, with OSHA inspections in 2012, 2014, and 2018 identifying sanitation, electrical, and fire hazards, as well as a lack of lockout/tagout, machine-guarding, and fall protections. The vessel also had a previous ammonia leak in 2018. In 2013, it ran aground in Kodiak Island, Alaska.

East West Seafoods rap sheet also includes a 2013 incident in which it was found to have intentionally discharged oily bilge water and 1,000 gallons of raw sewage into the ocean within three miles of the Alaskan coast. A federal court in Alaska sentenced the company and its owner to five years of probation and $50,000 in fines over the incident.

In addition to OSHA’s actions in February, the U.S. Coast Guard invalidated the F/V Pacific Producer’s certificate of compliance, stopping operations until repairs were made.

“Alaskan fishing industry workers depend on their employers for vessels that don’t jeopardize their safety and health,” said OSHA Acting Regional Administrator Jack A. Rector in Seattle back in February. “For more than a decade, our inspectors have found disgusting and dangerous conditions aboard the F/V Pacific Producer, and the well-being of crews aboard the vessel are at great risk because of its owner’s failures.”

“This employer’s blatant and continued disregard for crews aboard the F/V Pacific Producer must end before tragedy strikes,” Rector added. “The U.S. Department of Labor and its federal partners will use their full enforcement powers to hold East West Seafoods and Christos Tsabouris accountable for their callous neglect and contempt for federal workplace safety standards.”

We’ll update on this latest ammonia leak as new information comes in.

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