Port Moller limbo

A recent court order calls into question the ownership of a remote Southwest Alaska seafood processing plant.

The Port Moller plant was among assets of failed processor Peter Pan. The plant was sold at auction in 2024 to Rodger May, who was Peter Pan's owner, and a Washington court approved the sale.

But on July 9, Alaska Superior Court Judge Laura Hartz ruled the Washington court lacked jurisdiction to dispose of property in Alaska without approval of the Alaska court.

The judge concluded that John Ketcham, who had loaned Peter Pan money, has a first priority lien against the Port Moller plant.

The plant currently is under lease to Silver Bay Seafoods, which is using it not to process fish but to provide support services for area fleets.

King Cove mayor issues 'help wanted' plea

The imperiled town's seafood processing plant is "now going on three years of being closed," writes Mayor Warren Wilson.

John Ketcham v. Rodger May

This 12-page lawsuit, filed yesterday, involves a fight over a piece of Peter Pan Seafood — the remote Port Moller processing plant.

King Cove's plight

With the collapse last year of Peter Pan Seafood, the remote Alaska Peninsula community of King Cove now faces another salmon season without its mainstay processing plant.

The town is meeting the "nightmare" situation with a blend of anger, determination and hope, King Cove Mayor Warren Wilson writes here.

A buyer for Peter Pan's King Cove plant?

Oregon-based processing giant Pacific Seafood is showing interest in acquiring Peter Pan's idled King Cove processing plant.

That's according to this KUCB report.

Another major announcement from Silver Bay

Silver Bay Seafoods says it will acquire processing plants at Dillingham and Port Moller, adding: "As part of this acquisition, Silver Bay has committed to participating in the working group formed by Rodger May to address the future of the former Peter Pan Seafoods facility in King Cove."

More in this press release.

Whither Peter Pan?

Tomorrow, we may learn the ultimate fate of Peter Pan, the legacy Alaska seafood processor that halted operations earlier this year.

Contenders including Rodger May and Silver Bay Seafoods are vying for what remains of the company.

May is a Seattle-area entrepreneur who's been involved in everything from seafood to movies. He became the lead owner of Peter Pan in early 2021, when he and other investors acquired the distressed company from Japanese seafood titan Maruha Nichiro.

In April, Wells Fargo Bank petitioned for appointment of a receiver for Peter Pan.

Since then, the court-appointed receiver has moved to sell off Peter Pan's assets.

May's bid for the company's remaining assets has been deemed the top offer, valued at about $37.3 million.

Wells Fargo likes the offer, but several other parties have filed objections.

A hearing on approval of the sale of assets is set for tomorrow in King County Superior Court in Seattle.

The Peter Pan fire sale

Rodger May, half owner of the collapsed processor Peter Pan Seafood, has won an auction for an assortment of the company's remaining assets, edging out a competing bid from Silver Bay Seafoods.

A notice filed in King County Superior Court in Seattle, where Peter Pan is being liquidated through receivership proceedings, indicates May bid $37,324,000 to Silver Bay's $37,067,320.

Results of the bid are subject to court approval.

May's bid consists of a $25,324,000 cash component and a $12 million credit bid, court papers show.

Here's a table designating the purchase price for individual assets.

Some of the prices seem shockingly low for properties once regarded as crown jewels in Alaska's seafood industry. For example, the price for the huge King Cove processing plant is $200,000 cash ($1 for the real property and fixtures, and $199,999 for the equipment and machinery).

The Dillingham processing plant has a purchase price of $11 million, but only $3 million of that in cash.

The most expensive sale item appears to be equipment and machinery in the Port Moller processing plant, priced at $8.75 million cash. This makes sense, as the Port Moller plant was rebuilt in 2018 following a fire.

Will these Peter Pan assets function again as they once did? That remains to be seen.

A big canned salmon deal

The court-appointed receiver for Peter Pan Seafood is looking to sell the company's canned salmon inventory to Silver Bay Seafoods in a $27.3 million deal.

Silver Bay would use the inventory to help fulfill a U.S. Department of Agriculture contract, according to this motion filed in King County Superior Court.

More Peter Pan news

Proceedings continue in the case of Peter Pan, the legacy seafood processor now in receivership.

The latest twist is an offer from Peter Pan's president, Rodger May, to acquire certain assets, including the Port Moller processing plant, for $15 million.

For more details about the proposal, plus some interesting remarks about Silver Bay Seafoods, see this 18-page motion filed in King County Superior Court.

An interesting note from the Peter Pan meltdown

This filing in the Peter Pan Seafood receivership reveals a "collaboration among competitors" involving the storage, labeling and distribution of canned salmon.

Liquidating Peter Pan

The court-appointed receiver for Peter Pan Seafood Co. has filed his initial report outlining efforts to sell off the company's assets, including millions of dollars in canned and frozen fish inventory.

The report also summarizes several lawsuits pending against Peter Pan.

The receiver also discloses he has collected $5 million in insurance proceeds related to two fires that occurred before the receivership.

Another problem for Peter Pan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is suing Peter Pan Seafood Co. to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act at processing plants in Valdez and King Cove.

Under a proposed consent decree, Peter Pan and another company, PSF Inc., would pay a civil penalty of $750,000.

The decree lays out requirements to monitor and manage seafood processing waste discharges.

The EPA lawsuit also names Silver Bay Seafoods as a defendant, due to Silver Bay's recent purchase of Peter Pan's Valdez plant.

More trouble for Peter Pan Seafood

Wells Fargo Bank has filed a petition for appointment of a general receiver. The action is pending in King County Superior Court.

Is Peter Pan dead?

Peter Pan Seafood Co. posted the following on Facebook:

We're saddened to share that Peter Pan Seafood will be halting operations at its processing plants, leading to the discontinuation of both summer and winter production cycles for the foreseeable future.

Efforts are underway to facilitate a smooth transition. For individuals who have worked or are working with Peter Pan Seafood as processors and are in search of job opportunities, we urge you to submit your application to Silver Bay Seafoods.

Further financial pressure on Peter Pan

A fishing company has filed a lawsuit against Peter Pan Seafood Co. claiming nonpayment of nearly half a million dollars for deliveries of red king crab, Pacific cod and other fish.

Processing sector consolidation

One processor, Silver Bay Seafoods, is growing while another company, Peter Pan, appears to be fading away.

More details in this joint press release.

Another Peter Pan fire

A reader advised Deckboss of a fire at Peter Pan Seafood's King Cove plant.

"No flame could be seen from afar but lots of smoke," he said.

We checked with Peter Pan, which provided this response:

"You heard correctly, there was a minor fire early this morning in the crab plant at King Cove. No injuries. Fire is out. Minimal damage. No reported cause as of yet."

This is the second fire for Peter Pan this year. On Feb. 7, company buildings at Sand Point burned.

Fire reported at Peter Pan facility in Sand Point

Peter Pan Seafood provided the following statement regarding a fire at its Sand Point location.

Early this morning Wed., Feb. 7, the Peter Pan Sand Point Facility warehouse and nearby stock room were involved in a fire. We are grateful to report that there were no injuries.

We have staff on the ground in Sand Point and teams en route from King Cove to continue assessing the situation and gathering information on the incident.

We want to express our deepest gratitude to our friends at Trident and to the public safety office in Sand Point for their support and assistance during the fire.

Peter Pan temporarily idles its King Cove plant

Bellevue, Washington-based processor Peter Pan Seafood today issued this statement regarding its operational status for this year in Alaska:

We are saddened to inform our fishermen and the King Cove community that Peter Pan Seafood will not be able to operate our King Cove facility for the 2024 A Season. This is an unfortunate but temporary step. We will be open for the 2024 B Season, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to Alaska, our fleet, and the communities where we do business.

We did not come to this decision quickly or easily. The current state of the seafood industry is tumultuous, and it has impacted many operators in the region. The industry is facing inflation, interest rates hikes, financing challenges, and high fuel costs. We have worked through these issues as diligently as possible and have explored possible options. This temporary step, while difficult, is necessary to maintain our long-term commitment to the future of our business in Alaska.

We remain committed to continuing to provide the best service and support possible to our fleet, communities, and stakeholders while continuing our mission to be an exemplary global supplier of top-quality and responsibly sourced seafood. Looking to the future, we will employ more than 1,000 this year as we open the King Cove facility for the 2024 B Season and our other three facilities as normal for the salmon season.

We are steadfast in our future commitment to Alaska, our fleet, and the communities we do business in. We are grateful for the strong relationship we have with King Cove and we remain committed to doing everything in our power to support the community and fishermen during this time.