The Cornelia Marie

The Cornelia Marie was built in 1989, after being commissioned by owner Ralph Collins. The boat was named after Ralph's wife, Cornelia Marie Collins. In 1990, Phil Harris bought into the ship. Cornelia ultimately took majority ownership of the boat after she and Ralph divorced. Phil continued as captain, while Cornelia operated her end of the business from Anchorage.

The Cornelia Marie fishes for King, Tanner, and Opilio crab, and also does salmon and herring tendering (hauling fish from smaller boats to canneries onshore). The ship was seen, but not named, in the two pilots of Deadliest Catch. It was featured in season 1 of the series and every season since, along with the Maverick, the Northwestern and the Time Bandit and the Wizard.

Captain Phil suffered a stroke on January 29, 2010. Several days later, while in the hospital, Phil awoke from a medically induced coma and, unable to speak, wrote a note saying, “Keep filming. There has to be an end to this story.” Captain Phil passed away on February 9, 2010, at the age of 53. His two sons, Josh and Jake, continue to work on the boat.

All this because Josh said on last night's episode that he was "going to call Cornelia."