Will Sennott / Reporter

Will is a staff reporter for The New Bedford Light, covering housing court, education, offshore wind and the fishing industry. He was lead reporter on the team that founded the news organization in June of 2021.
Sennott graduated from UMass Amherst in 2019, where he studied history and creative writing. Before The Light, he worked for The Vineyard Gazette. Sennott’s reporting has been featured on NPR, The Boston Globe and The New York Times.
Read more about Will Sennott
Stories by Will Sennott

Blue Harvest bankruptcy leaves millions in unpaid debt to local businesses
It’s all part of the private equity firm playbook. “They buy a company, they strip it, they declare bankruptcy and they walk away.” As for the small businesses with unpaid invoices? “That money is gone.” — Eileen Appelbaum, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research

Blue Harvest files for Ch. 7 bankruptcy, company likely to liquidate assets
“I guess we’re not getting paid,” said Randy Martin, a machinist at Harbor Hydraulics, which abuts the Blue Harvest facility on the Fairhaven side of the port. He said Blue Harvest owed “a lot of companies a lot of money.”

Blue Harvest to shut down, ending reign over New England groundfish
Most fleets on the New Bedford waterfront have been built up over decades, even generations. But with private equity capital injected into the company, Blue Harvest was able to anchor itself amongst the ranks of the largest companies on the East Coast in just under a decade.

‘Enforcer’ patrols wind farms to protect jobs – but for whom?
“It’s about closing the loopholes that allow foreign nationals to undercut American industry in our own country.” — Aaron Smith, president of Offshore Marine Services Association, a Louisiana-based trade group that charters the Jones Act Enforcer.

Women say they were fired from seafood plant after reporting sexual harassment
True North Seafood said the incidents are unrelated. In a statement, the company said: “True North does not believe that harassment is a prevalent issue at its New Bedford facility.”

‘We hit the biggest guy in the room’
How Kevin Rose halted offshore wind operations in New Bedford, won a new contract, and restored confidence in the local longshoremen’s union

OSHA signs up to protect New Bedford’s immigrant seafood workers
“OSHA will inform workers that they have the right to speak up about hazards in their workplace without fear of retaliation, regardless of immigration status.” — OSHA administrator Kristen Rubino

Young minke whale found dead in New Bedford harbor
“It’s not typically where you see these animals … Right now, unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of information.” — Misty Niemeyer, stranding coordinator with IFAW

Whale carcasses on Martha’s Vineyard fuel speculation about wind turbines
NOAA concluded in a January report that there is “no known connection” between offshore wind activity and whale deaths. But some remain skeptical. Without an investigation, they say there is no way the agency can stand by its claim.

Longshoremen’s union gets contract, ending Vineyard Wind strike
“For my community, the Cape Verdean community, this is a guarantee in writing that we will not be left behind.” — Local 1413 (ILA) President Kevin Rose
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