The F/V Northwestern, a western rigged boat, was constructed in 1977 at Marco Shipyards in Seattle, Washington for the sole purpose of fishing King and Tanner Crab off of the coast of Alaska.
It was christened F/V Northwestern on 1977 November 5 by Snefryd Hansen, the wife of then-owner and captain Sverre Hansen.
The vessel is currently owned and operated by Sverre and Snefryd's three sons: Sigurd (Sig), Norman, and Edgar Hansen.
Sig serves as the vessel's primary captain with his younger brother, Edgar, also running the boat on occasion.
Edgar serves primarily as the boat's relief captain, deck boss and engineer when Sig is in the captain's chair.
Their other brother, Norman, is a deckhand on the boat and he occasionally serves as engineer when Edgar is in the captain's chair.

In the 1980s the boat was one of the first to fish Opilio crab.
Throughout the 1980s the Northwestern kept very busy year round, fishing opilio crab, blue king crab, red king crab, and brown king crab at different times of the year.

To keep up with the increasing demand for crab in the late 1980s and early 1990s, boats needed to carry more pots (steel box shaped traps that are used to fish for crab).
Rather than buy a new boat, the Hansen family decided to have the Northwestern extended twice.
Originally built at 108 feet (32.9 m) with the ability to carry 156 pots, the Northwestern was extended to 118 feet (36.0 m) in 1987 to allow for 200 pots.
In 1991, when the maximum crab pots a boat could carry was raised to 250, the Hansens again had the Northwestern lengthened, this time to 125 feet (38 m).
Today, in the IFQ system, they usually carry no more than 195 pots.

The Hansen brothers worked aboard the Northwestern as deckhands throughout their childhood, and all three decided to make fishing their profession, joining a long line of Hansen men making their living as fishermen.
 Sig, the oldest of the three, took over as captain of the Northwestern full-time in 1990.
Under his leadership, the Northwestern boasts an astounding record of never having suffered a death at sea despite its home territory being the dangerous Alaskan crab grounds, where deaths average nearly one fisherman per week during the heart of its productive seasons.
The F/V Northwestern, a western rigged boat, was constructed in 1977 at Marco Shipyards in Seattle, Washington for the sole purpose of fishing King and Tanner Crab off of the coast of Alaska. It was christened F/V Northwestern on 1977 November 5 by Snefryd Hansen, the wife of then-owner and captain Sverre Hansen. The vessel is currently owned and operated by Sverre and Snefryd's three sons: Sigurd (Sig), Norman, and Edgar Hansen. Sig serves as the vessel's primary captain with his younger brother, Edgar, also running the boat on occasion. Edgar serves primarily as the boat's relief captain, deck boss and engineer when Sig is in the captain's chair. Their other brother, Norman, is a deckhand on the boat and he occasionally serves as engineer when Edgar is in the captain's chair.
In the 1980s the boat was one of the first to fish Opilio crab. Throughout the 1980s the Northwestern kept very busy year round, fishing opilio crab, blue king crab, red king crab, and brown king crab at different times of the year.
To keep up with the increasing demand for crab in the late 1980s and early 1990s, boats needed to carry more pots (steel box shaped traps that are used to fish for crab). Rather than buy a new boat, the Hansen family decided to have the Northwestern extended twice. Originally built at 108 feet (32.9 m) with the ability to carry 156 pots, the Northwestern was extended to 118 feet (36.0 m) in 1987 to allow for 200 pots. In 1991, when the maximum crab pots a boat could carry was raised to 250, the Hansens again had the Northwestern lengthened, this time to 125 feet (38 m). Today, in the IFQ system, they usually carry no more than 195 pots.
The Hansen brothers worked aboard the Northwestern as deckhands throughout their childhood, and all three decided to make fishing their profession, joining a long line of Hansen men making their living as fishermen.  Sig, the oldest of the three, took over as captain of the Northwestern full-time in 1990. Under his leadership, the Northwestern boasts an astounding record of never having suffered a death at sea despite its home territory being the dangerous Alaskan crab grounds, where deaths average nearly one fisherman per week during the heart of its productive seasons.
FV Northwestern