June 8, 2020 — American Seafoods Company has announced additional cases of COVID-19 aboard two more of its catcher-processor trawlers, the American Triumph and the Northern Jaeger. Testing revealed 25 positive cases between the two vessels. The ships ordinarily carry about 130 crewmembers each.
The American Triumph and Northern Jaeger are currently in port at Bellingham to offload their catch. A third vessel, the American Dynasty, had an outbreak resulting in 94 positive cases (86 at the time of her arrival in Bellingham and eight more afterwards). The Dynasty has since relocated to Seattle and her crew have moved into quarantine housing administered by King County.
“On the Northern Jaeger, one crew member reported feeling ill on-board last week and was transported to the hospital where they have tested negative for covid-19. The crew member is in the hospital recovering from their illness,” said ASC in a statement June 3.
Before the three vessels sailed in May, ASC required crewmembers to undergo a five-day quarantine period and a COVID-19 lab test. The company has since extended the pre-quarantine period to 14 days, a spokesperson told NPR.