The U.S. Coast Guard is prosecuting John D. Gibbs, the owner and managing operator of the Southern Horizon, an 89-foot tuna longliner caught using a foreign national as master – a so-called ‘paper captain’ – on Oct. 19, as part of a broader operation by the Coast Guard to address the increased instances of vessel owners illegally hiring foreign captains to command U.S. flagged ships in violation of the Jones Act.

If found guilty Mr. Gibbs, who is a repeat paper captain offender, faces over $12,000 in fines, according to Coast Guard officials.

Noticing an uptick in the number of Jones Act violations in the Pacific Northwest since 2020, Coast Guard Sector Columbia River initiated Operation Flat Stanley, to target and prosecute vessel owners who use paper captains, the practice of listing a U.S. citizen as master on paper while giving the top job to a less expensive hire from abroad.

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