Seafood Firm Cited For 17 Food Violations On Ship

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a seafood processing vessel’s operators over claims that the firm had exposed its workers to several dangers and unsanitary conditions at sea.

OSHA, on Thursday, declared citations against Kodiak, an Alaska-based company East West Seafoods LLC, and the owner for two repetitive grave violations, 17 serious ones, and an additional violation following a July 2022 investigation that found murky water in the drinking supply of the F/V Pacific Producer with other unsanitary conditions.

OSHA said the crew members were being given expired food. Inspectors also determined that water used for processing fish reportedly leaked into dry storage and the ship’s dining area. Many inspectors could uncover multiple electrical hazards on the vessel, like exposed wiring and ungrounded extension cords, impaired and incorrectly installed electrical equipment, broken outlets and outlets close to the water, and a lack of fire suppression equipment.

OSHA proposed $208,983 in penalties. The company has contested the citations. The US Coast Guard aided in the investigation.

The firm was cited for similar accusations in 2028, 2014, and 2012.

In 2017, a federal judge reportedly sentenced the firm and the owner, Christos Tsabouris, to about five years of probation and about $50,000 in terms of fines after the Justice Department of the US discovered that the firm had intentionally discharged oily bilge water and almost 1,000 gallons of sewage into the ocean approximately three miles off the coast of Alaska and gave incorrect records to the US Coast Guard, per OSHA.