A serious incident at the Port of Seattle has brought renewed attention to maritime safety and alcohol consumption on board.
The U.S. Coast Guard arrested the captain of the MSC Jubilee IX, a 108,770-gross ton containership with a capacity of 8,800 TEU. The vessel had arrived at an anchorage near Everett, Washington, coming from Busan, South Korea, with a port call in Vancouver, Canada. Built in 2008, the Liberian-registered vessel joined the MSC fleet in March 2025.
The detention following an inspection
The detention occurred following an inspection initiated after the vessel’s arrival in port. The Coast Guard was notified by the Puget Sound pilot (the system of inlets that includes the Port of Seattle), who, on August 20th, boarded the vessel to guide it to Terminal 5 of the American port city.
Signs of intoxication in the captain
He noticed clear signs of intoxication in the captain and alerted the port authorities. Despite the situation, the vessel was safely maneuvered by the pilot and first officer during its transit from anchorage to Terminal 5 of the Port of Seattle.
The Coast Guard inspection and investigation team boarded the vessel to conduct a routine inspection. During the check, the captain was administered a sobriety test and a breathalyzer, the results of which were unequivocal: the captain’s blood alcohol level was six times the legal limit for commercial maritime transit.
Immediately arrested, the captain was transferred to the King County Jail to await formal arraignment by the prosecutor, while the ship remained idle until a replacement captain was appointed. Only after receiving authorization to resume operations on August 22nd was the MSC Jubilee IX able to depart Seattle for Prince Rupert and then Yantian, China.
A similar case occurred in early 2024 in Felixstowe, where another captain of an MSC vessel was arrested for a similar offense.
Historic milestone with offload over 76,140 lbs. in illegal narcotics at Port Everglades
On the other hand the U.S. Coast Guard achieved a historic milestone with the offload of 76,140 pounds of illicit narcotics, valued at $473 million, marking the largest quantity of drugs offloaded in Coast Guard history, in Port Everglades, Monday.
Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton’s crew offloaded approximately 61,740 pounds of cocaine and approximately 14,400 pounds of marijuana.
This combined illegal narcotics offload prevented the maritime flow of approximately 23 million potential lethal doses from reaching the United States.
Related : US Coast Guard, Navy Seize Nearly 1,300 Pounds of Cocaine
