Sig Hansen is the captain of Northwestern, a fishing vessel. His rise to fame is the popular TV series Deadliest Catch. It is a documentary TV series which Hansen has been a part of since the year 2006. In addition to this Hansen is also a technical advisor of the production.

Personal Life

Sigurd Jonny Hansen, more popularly known as Sig Hansen was born on April 28, 1966 in Seattle, Washington, in the United States of America. Hansen, an American citizen is the oldest of the three siblings. He has two brothers named Norman Hansen and Edgar Hansen. Born to Sverre Hansen, who is the descendent of a Norwegian Family of fishermen.

Both his grandfather and father have been pioneers in Alaska for opilio crab fishing, for it is an efficient way of enabling crab boats to earn money throughout the year instead of end-year seasons or just earn money over a short span of time. In his biography it is stated that since the age of 14 Hansen has been fishing, initially he began fishing on his family boat and after graduating from high school he took up fishing full time. As a result of this he spent over 10 months every year in the Bering Sea and around Alaska. In Norway, during the summers Hansen would fish cod and mackerel.

Hansen has been married twice, In 1987, Hansen got married for the first time to a woman named Lisa Eckstrom. The couple had a child together in the year 1990, a daughter named Melissa Eckstrom. It was Melissa who recently accused Hansen of sexually abusing her in her infancy. Hansen has denied the claims and blamed it as a tactic by his ex-wife to extort money out of him in addition to their divorce settlement. The case is yet sub-judice and a verdict is awaited.

Hansen is currently married, it is to another woman named June and the couple live together in Seattle. They have adopted two children, both daughters, named Nina and Mandy. Hansen is fluent in Norwegian and English. He attended Shorewood High School as a student. When he is at sea he has confessed that he follows a Norwegian Fisherman’s Diet that primarily includes Coffee, Cigarettes and Chocolates.

As recently as March 2016, Hansen encountered a health scare when he suffered a heart attack. The entire incident was shown on his TV show Deadliest Catch. Post recovery he returned to the show.

Career

Initially Hansen began by helping his father on their boat, later on he became the relief skipper at the age of 22. Soon, when he turned 24 he became the captain of the boat The Northwestern. In almost two decades of him being the boat’s captain, the boat has seen an excellent safety record and hasn’t even registered a single death at sea. In 2005, when the Northwestern won the derby season in both the categories of highest poundage caught and maximum amount earned. The boat was then featured on Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch.