Alaskan fishing-industry employees aboard a seafood processing vessel last summer were exposed to dangerous conditions on the vessel by a company with a decade-long history of safety violations.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) determined that workers aboard the F/V Pacific Producer "faced dangers purely of their employer’s making," the DOL reported Feb. 16. East West Seafoods LLC and Christos Tsabouris were cited for two repeat serious, 17 serious violations, and one other than serious violation Jan. 12 and face $208,983 in penalties, according to the report.
An investigation by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in Kodiak, Alaska in July was stymied when the vessel left port, the DOL reports. Coordination with the USCG's Puget Sound sector allowed a joint inspection to take place when the F/V Pacific Producer arrived in Seattle in October, according to the DOL.
"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," the DOL reports.
Workers were also exposed to electrical hazards such as damaged or improperly installed equipment; broken outlets; outlets near water; ungrounded extension cords; and exposed wiring, according to the report. There was also no required fire-suppression system on the F/V Pacific Producer.
The findings of this investigation continue a "history of unsafe operations" by East West Seafood that have made employees vulnerable to serious harm or death, dating back to 2012, according to the report. Similar sanitation, fire and electrical hazards, safety protections, other dangers were identified in inspections in 2012, 2014 and 2018, the DOL reports. In 2017, the company was found to have intentionally discharged oily bilge water and raw sewage into the ocean, leading to a five years of probation and $50,000 in fines. The 2018 inspection also revealed an ammonia leak, according to the report.
“Alaskan fishing-industry workers depend on their employers for vessels that don’t jeopardize their safety and health,” OSHA Acting Regional Administrator in Seattle Jack Rector said in the report. "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.”
In addition to OSHA’s actions, the USCG invalidated the F/V Pacific Producer's certificate of compliance, halting the employer's continued operations until repairs are made, the DOL reports.
East West Seafoods LLC is the owner of the F/V Pacific Producer, a 169-foot, 472-ton seafood processing vessel registered in the U.S. Christos Tsabouris has had charge of the vessel since November 2012, according to the report. East West Seafoods has contested the citations and penalties to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the report states.
“This employer’s blatant and continued disregard for crews aboard the F/V Pacific Producer must end before tragedy strikes,” Rector said in the report. “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.”
