On Saturday afternoon, a fire broke out aboard a Trident Seafoods factory trawler at Tacoma’s Tideflats Port Facility, burning through the deckhouse and the wheelhouse. It is the second major fire aboard a Trident vessel in Tacoma since 2021.
The fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday morning, according to the Washington Department of Ecology. The Tacoma Fire Department dispatched crews to the scene to combat the fire from the pier, and South King Fire and Rescue sent the fire boat Zenith to assist from the water side. The U.S. Coast Guard closed down the waterway to marine traffic for safety, and multiple layers of booms were installed around the vessel to contain any potential spill.
The Washington State Department of Ecology set up air monitoring to watch for potential health hazards from the smoke, and it found pollutant levels at or below the level of moderate concern. To ensure the safety of the public, the Tacoma Fire Department has issued a temporary shelter in place order for three neighborhoods downwind.
No injuries or water pollution have been reported. As of Sunday, the vessel continued to emit a substantial volume of smoke.
Kodiak Enterprise is a 1977-built factory trawler, originally constructed as an OSV and converted into a fishing vessel in 1989. She had just returned from her most recent Bering Sea fishing voyage on March 25, according to AIS data provided by Pole Star.