This story has been corrected to state the grounding incident of the Adventure Bound occurred Oct. 18, 2022, not Oct. 22.
Petro 49 has sued Adventure Bound Alaska, Steven Weber and Winona Weber for nearly $20,000 associated with unpaid bills, the first hint of accountability for the once-popular tour boat company that stopped operating, but continued to sell tickets.
The company’s Adventure Bound vessel was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard following a grounding incident on Oct. 18, 2022, and issued notices of deficiencies which prevented it from lawfully taking paying guests. However, Adventure Bound and its operator continued to take passengers out, according to a Coast Guard report.
[Adventure Bound Alaska was grounded, issued citations and continued to operate]
The company also continued to sell tickets for trips well into the summer, only to cancel excursions days or even hours before the tours were scheduled to start, prompting dozens of complaints online and with local agencies such as Travel Juneau.
Travel Juneau received about 40 calls regarding the situation with Adventure Bound, said Liz Perry, president and CEO of the nonprofit tourism organization. The agency made repeated calls and emails, but was unable to reach anyone at Adventure Bound starting in May.
Perry called the situation “concerning and sad, as it was a local favorite excursion.”
The debt collection action, filed Aug. 9 in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, may provide a clue as to when Adventure Bound stopped running. According to the lawsuit, the unpaid bill stems from petroleum products and other services provided to the company between Sept. 6, 2022, and Feb. 1, 2023.
Steven Weber, on behalf of Adventure Bound, applied for commercial credit with Petro 49 in 2003, and personally guaranteed the company’s obligations as part of the credit agreement, according to the lawsuit.
Petro 49 provided the company with an “aging report,” the term for a form that lists outstanding customer invoices and payment due dates, on May 31. The aggregate amount was $19,492.63, which includes the purchase amount, late fees and interest, which continue to accrue.
The lawsuit also seeks pre- and post-judgment interest, costs and attorneys fees.
Aaron Sperbeck, the attorney who filed the case, said last month he had not been able to serve the Webers directly and would publish on the court’s legal notice website. He could not be reached for comment Friday.
Several attempts to reach the Webers have been unsuccessful. The phone number for Adventure Bound, still in operation in July, is no longer in service.
Petro 49, considered Alaska’s largest independent petroleum marketing and distribution company, operates throughout Southeast and Southcentral Alaska, and in the Yukon Territory.
• Contact Meredith Jordan at meredith.jordan@juneauempire.com.
