After Vanishing for Years, the Cornelia Marie Sets Sail Again — But Who Holds the Keys Now?
The Cornelia Marie has switched hands, but it appears that the vessel isn’t likely to end up back on “The Deadliest Catch” any time soon. The boat recently resurfaced on Instagram with a fresh account, and information attached to the page declares that a number of fishermen now co-own the crabber. Among them are Roger Thomas, Kari Toivola, Jake Albinio and Taylor Jensen. Jensen confirmed his involvement with an Instagram post of his own. “First shipyard as partners in this big blue piece of steel,” read the caption on his photo.
While the ship’s new social media makes it clear that it will still be used for crabbing and fishing, what of its future on “The Deadliest Catch?” There’s no concrete word either way. If the owners decide to say yes to the show’s producers, that will take the Cornelia Marie up some very familiar watery straits. It will also force the ship and its new owners to directly reckon with its legacy of triumph and tragedy, which will almost certainly trail the majestic boat into its future.
The tale of the Harris family was harrowing
Any “Deadliest Catch” fan worth their salt knows that the Cornelia Marie once belonged to the Harris family, who became enmeshed in tragedy and legal complications before leaving the reality series behind. Phil Harris skippered the boat from Season 1 through Season 6, during which he was found dead, with Discovery Channel cameras filming all of the ups and downs that led to his passing from an intracranial hemorrhage in 2010.
Duties on the Cornelia Marie were subsequently taken over by Derrick Ray, while Harris‘ son Josh was given his own spin-off series, “Deadliest Catch: Bloodline.” Discovery subsequently severed ties with Harris in 2022 after it was reported that he sexually assaulted a four-year-old girl in 1998, when he was 16. He was arrested for the crime in 1999, spent nine months in prison and underwent a psychosexual exam. His brother Jake, meanwhile, coped with addiction issues that led him to appear on “Bloodline” and “Deadliest Catch” only on an intermittent basis.
Both Harris brothers and the Cornelia Marie disappeared from the show’s line-up of vessels during Season 13 of “Deadliest Catch” and the second season of “Bloodline,” and have not returned to the programs since. Time will tell if the Cornelia Marie still has a whale of a tale to tell the world — or if its adventures will be quiet ones from here on out.
