Operators of a seafood processing vessel were cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration over claims that the company exposed workers to various hazards and unhealthy conditions while at sea.
OSHA on Thursday announced lawsuits against Kodiak, Alaska-based East West Seafoods LLC and its owner for two repeated serious violations, 17 serious violations and one additional violation after a July 2022 investigation allegedly found cloudy water in the drinking tank of the F/V Pacific Producer along with other unhealthy conditions.
OSHA said crew members were also served expired food and inspectors determined that water used to process fish leaked into dry storage and into the ship̵
7;s dining area.Inspectors also discovered various electrical hazards aboard the ship, such as ungrounded extension cords and exposed wires, damaged and improperly installed electrical equipment, broken outlets and outlets near water, and a lack of fire-fighting equipment.
OSHA proposed $208,983 in penalties. The company has disputed the references.
The U.S. Coast Guard assisted in the investigation.
The company was cited for similar allegations in 2012, 2014 and 2018.
In 2017, a federal judge sentenced the company and its owner, Christos Tsabouris, to five years of probation and $50,000 in fines after the U.S. Department of Justice found the company intentionally released oily stormwater and 1,000 gallons of raw sewage into the ocean about three miles off the coast of Alaska, giving then false records to the US Coast Guard, according to OSHA.
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