Fishing company seeks to limit liability

SEATTLE, June 29 (UPI) -- The owners of a fishing boat that sank in the Bering Sea are asking a federal judge to limit the Seattle firm's liability for the accident, court papers show.

The Seattle Times reported Sunday 21 personal-injury and two wrongful-death lawsuits have been filed in King County Superior Court over the sinking of the Alaska Ranger.

The lawsuits accuse Fishing Co. of Alaska in Seattle, which owned the 189-foot head-and-gut processor, of negligence and operating an unseaworthy vessel.

Several other lawsuits are pending, the newspaper reported.

The company is asking the judge to invoke a maritime law limiting the amount of money that can be sought by survivors or the families of the dead to the value of the Alaska Ranger and its cargo "at the end of voyage," which in this case is nothing, the newspaper said.

There were 47 crew members aboard the ship when it foundered in rough weather 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor in March while heading out to fish for mackerel.

The ship lost power and steering as water poured into its engine room. The crew was forced to abandon ship in 35-degree water.