The vessel is now moored at Seattle, under lockdown, with one crewmember hospitalized and others quarantined and monitored by medical personnel.
American Seafoods Chief Officer Mikel Durham said crewmembers on the American Triumph and the Northern Jaeger are also being tested today, June 3, for COVID-19 as a precautionary measure. The Triumph docked today at Bellingham and the Jaeger arrives later today. One crewmember aboard the Northern Jaeger reported feeling ill on board last week, was transported to a hospital, and tested negative. Durham said the rest of the crew was being tested about of an abundance of caution.
American Seafoods, based in Seattle and Dutch Harbor, Alaska, maintains a fleet of six vessels that fish in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Durham said the company has preparedness plans in place for virus outbreaks and that those plans have now been fully executed. “The health and safety of our crew, employees and the communities where we operate is always the top priority for us,” Dunham said.
Officials with Trident Seafoods meanwhile closed the company’s Bellingham plant for the day on June 1 for a deep clean and to assess if contact tracing and isolation are necessary for anyone who might have been in a common area shared by individuals in contact with or from the American Dynasty,” said Trident spokesman Shannon Carroll.
“In our Lower-48 value added seafood operations, we have strong precautionary measures in place to detect and prevent spread of the virus,” Carroll said. “Our closure today was consistent with that precautionary approach.”
Trident Seafoods’ Alaska 14-day quarantine and testing procedures meanwhile were going smoothly and remain consistent with best practice, so we haven’t needed to make adjustments, but are constantly evaluating new information,” he said.