PORT TOWNSEND — Two and one-half years after the fishing trawler Western Wind was involved in the Pacific Northwest’s largest maritime cocaine bust, the boat still has no owner.
The Los Angeles man who bought the 91-foot vessel at a U.S. Customs auction in January has apparently disappeared, leaving a substantial Port of Port Townsend storage bill behind.
Since he cannot be found, the ship is going on the auction block again.
Port Facilities Manager Jim Pivarnik said Thursday that $14,469 in storage fees have accumulated since Richard Malinski purchased the boat — then stored in Port Angeles — from the federal government Jan. 30.
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The rest of the story appears in the Friday/Saturday PDN.
