History

Our History

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Navy Tanker 'Patapsco'

The C/P Arctic Storm was originally purchased in 1979 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by the owners of the fishing vessels Nordic Fury and Pacific Fury.  At that time, it was a retired Navy tanker, named "Patapsco."  The intent was to convert this vessel into a crab processor.  As luck would have it, the crab population decreased dramatically shortly thereafter, and the reconstruction project was never started.

The ship lay moored in Lake Union for four to five years until interest began to show in the North Pacific for the large stocks of Pollock and cod, heretofore utilized only by foreign fishing fleets.

In 1984, the owners negotiated a partnership with ProFish International, Inc., a company managing joint ventures and marketing fish into the United States.  This was to be a very successful marriage.  Plans commenced to reconstruct the aging oil tanker into a totally new vessel.  It would catch and process Alaska Pollock into a product called Surimi.  Although much used in the Asian markets, this product was, at that time, virtually unknown in the United States.

In early 1985, Oyang Fisheries of Korea was asked to be an additional partner in the project.  Their expertise in the operation of larger vessels of this type and knowledge of the production of Surimi would be invaluable.

Arctic Storm, Inc., was formed: a contract for reconstruction was signed in September 1986 with Wright Schuchart Harbor Company, a construction firm located in Seattle, Washington.  The ship was successfully converted and turned over to the owners in January 1988.

Late December of 1993, Arctic Storm, Inc., acquired management of C/P Arctic Fjord.  Previously named the Pacific Orion, the Arctic Fjord began fishing in January of 1994.  With the new management, a newly assembled crew, new equipment, and updated maintenance, the vessel quickly became a success both in the production of Surimi and fillets.