Unalaska, AK – Former state senator Ben Stevens appears to have resurfaced in Dutch Harbor, at least for a couple of weeks.

According to a report in the Anchorage Daily News today, the former lawmaker is working onboard one of the support ships for the Shell Oil drilling operations in the Arctic Ocean. Those vessels are currently docked in Dutch Harbor, awaiting the settlement of legal proceedings surrounding the drilling. Stevens is working on the combination tug boat/landing craft Arctic Seal.

Stevens was the president of the state Senate until January. He's currently under the cloud of the Veco Corp. corruption case, although he hasn't been charged with any crime. Federal documents filed in relation to the investigation refer to "State Senator B," who is clearly Stevens, accepting nearly $250,000 in consulting fees from the oil field service company, apparently intended to influence legislation.

The Bering Sea isn't new territory for Stevens--he worked on crab boats here and elsewhere for fifteen years before he became a lawmaker. The Arctic Seal was away from the dock this afternoon, so Stevens couldn't be reached for comment. Rick Gray, the president of Bering Marine Corp., which operates the vessel, declined to be interviewed today.