Fire Aboard the Catcher Processor "Arctic Storm"

The fire that broke out Monday afternoon aboard a large catcher processor is out and no injuries have been reported. The Arctic Storm is a 334-foot catcher processor that works extensively in the North Pacific including the massive Pollock fishery in the Bering Sea. Monday’s fire occurred while the vessel was operating off the coast of Washington in the Pacific whiting fishery. The Coast Guard reports that all crew members are safe and accounted for. The fire broke out in the vessel’s engine room as the vessel was about 30-miles west of Grays Harbor Washington. The vessel was serving as a mothership to smaller vessels that delivered the fish to the Arctic Storm for processing. At the time of the fire there were 120 crew members aboard. They are all safe and many of them have been taken back to Seattle. 78 of the crew members were evacuated to good Samaritan vessels that responded to Monday’s fire. 42 crewmembers are still onboard. They are manning the vessel as it gets towed back to port in Aberdeen. The Arctic Storm had about 188-thousand gallons of diesel fuel onboard at the time of the fire. The Arctic Storm is operated by the Seattle-based Arctic Storm Management Group, which has been the Pollock industry partner for the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporations since the mid 1990’s. The Arctic Storm was originally a Navy tanker that was converted to a catcher processor in 1988.