The Fishing Company of Alaska, based in Renton, owns the 220-foot Alaska Juris that started sinking in the Bering Sea shortly before noon on Tuesday.
Merchant vessels rescued 46 crew members who abandoned a sinking fishing ship in Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain Tuesday, Coast Guard officials said.
The 220-foot Alaska Juris, which started taking on water shortly before noon in the Bering Sea, is owned by The Fishing Company of Alaska, a seafood company based in Renton with a history of high-seas incidents.
According to the Alaska Dispatch News, the Alaska Juris was dead in the water Tuesday night more than 150 miles northwest of Adak. Merchant vessels Spar Canis and Vienna Express responded to help. As of 8:20 p.m., the crew members were on those ships and heading to Adak, the news outlet reported.
No injuries were reported.
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During the rescue, weather conditions were calm seas and winds, but there was low visibility because of heavy fog, Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Joseph Ayd said.
Lt. Joseph Schlosser of the U.S. Coast Guard told the Alaska Dispatch News that preliminary information suggests mechanical problems in the ship’s engine room led to the problems. The Alaska Juris is a factory trawler that scoops up fish with nets towed behind the boat.
The Fishing Company of Alaska was founded by Karena Adler, who died on Jan. 1.
In the early 1990s, Adler launched a fleet of factory ships that operate off Alaska and emerged as a powerful player in the North Pacific industry as she marketed the catch in Japan.
Over the years, the company has had a troubled track record.
A fire on a ship killed a crew member in 1994. Four years later, another vessel sank, though crew members escaped unharmed.
In the deadliest incident in 2008, another trawler, the Alaska Ranger, sank in the Bering Sea, killing the skipper and four other members of the 47-person crew.
The Coast Guard investigation of that sinking found numerous problems with the company’s operation of the Alaska Ranger, including the use of alcohol by crew and the employment of improperly licensed engineers.
More recently, in March 2012, a fisherman on board the Alaska Juris died after a cable snapped and struck him in the head. Days later, another fisherman was treated for a head injury after a cable snapped aboard the vessel and struck him.
In May of that same year, the crew of the Alaska Juris requested help from the Coast Guard after three crew members were exposed to ammonia after a leak when the ship was just north of Cold Bay, Alaska. The Coast Guard flew the trio to Cold Bay, where an airplane was waiting to fly them to Anchorage.
Throughout the years, the company also has come under scrutiny for the use of Japanese fishmasters who help conduct fish harvests.
Former Fishing Company of Alaska employees have accused the Japanese fishmasters of undermining the power of U.S. skippers charged with running the vessels and increasing the safety risks to crew.
A representative of the company could not immediately be reached for comment.