The Real Reason Cornelia Marie Disappeared From *Deadliest Catch

The Cornelia Marie, an iconic vessel on *Deadliest Catch*, captured the hearts of fans as the home of the beloved Captain Phil Harris and, later, his sons Josh and Jake.

Built in 1989 at Horton Boats in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, under the oversight of legendary shipbuilder Elmo Horton, this 128-foot crab boat was engineered for the brutal Bering Sea with a heavy steel frame, twin Cummins engines delivering 750 horsepower each, and a capacity for 28,500 gallons of fuel.

Named after Cornelia Marie Collins, the wife of original owner Ralph Collins, the boat symbolized partnership and resilience. For over a decade, it was a cornerstone of the Discovery Channel series, showcasing the raw challenges of Alaskan crabbing. However, its sudden disappearance from the show in 2022 left viewers puzzled, with a dark secret at the heart of its exit.

Under Phil Harris’s command since the 1990s, the Cornelia Marie became a legend, hauling massive crab loads and enduring the harshest conditions.

Phil, a tough yet deeply caring captain, led the boat to fame when it was featured in Season 2 of *Deadliest Catch* in 2005. His personal struggles, including addiction, and his bond with sons Josh and Jake added emotional depth to the show.

His tragic death from a stroke in 2010 at age 53 devastated fans and crew alike, leaving Josh and Jake to carry on his legacy. Despite financial and personal hurdles, including failed loan attempts and tensions with co-owner Cornelia Marie Devlin, Josh eventually secured partial ownership with Casey McManus, keeping the boat on air through turbulent times.

The Cornelia Marie’s absence from Season 13 in 2016 frustrated fans, as producers shifted focus to other boats for fresh storylines. It returned in 2018 to much fanfare, with Josh and Casey at the helm, and even inspired a spin-off, *Deadliest Catch: Bloodline*, in 2020, following Josh’s quest in Hawaii based on Phil’s old fishing charts.

However, the boat’s ultimate disappearance came in 2022 after a shocking revelation about Josh Harris. Court documents unearthed in August 2022 revealed that in 1998, at age 15, Josh had s3xually assaulted a 4-year-old child, pleading guilty to a lesser charge in 1999 and serving nine months in jail.

The scandal, hidden for over two decades, led Discovery to sever ties with Josh, pulling *Deadliest Catch* and *Bloodline* episodes from streaming platforms worldwide. Casey McManus, despite being uninvolved, also lost his contract in the fallout.

In 2024, the Cornelia Marie embarked on a new chapter as Taylor Jensen, Roger Thomas, Kari Toivola, and Captain Jake Albanese purchased the boat, focusing on fishing over fame.

Free from the Harris family’s shadow for the first time since Phil’s death, the vessel’s future remains uncertain on television. This scandal, compounded by personal tragedies and health crises in the Harris family, marks the real reason behind the Cornelia Marie’s disappearance from *Deadliest Catch*, leaving fans to grapple with the loss of an icon tied to both triumph and tragedy.