On May 17, 2026, West Marine filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. In an official statement in conjunction with the court filing, West Marine announced that it has entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (“RSA”) with the support of its key financial stakeholders that will allow the Company to deliver its capital structure while maximizing value and ensuring continued service to the boating community.
To fund operations throughout the Chapter 11 process, West Marine reached an agreement with its secured lenders to consensually use its cash collateral, providing it with sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations to customers, employees and vendors. That said, in a subsequent court filing in Delaware on June 8, West Marine announced the closure of 59 retail locations across the United States, including three in New Jersey (Toms River, Eatontown and Cape May), three in New York (Irondequoit, Watertown, and Port Washington), three in Maryland (Ocean City, Edgewater and Rock Hall), and one in Pennsylvania (Bensalem).
According to Trade Only Today, this is a developing story that will further be updated. Trade Only Today went on to report how West Marine’s CEO Paulee Day was paid a retention bonus of $425,000 May 1, just 16 days before the retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Additionally, the publication reported that Day was paid a $475,000 retention bonus May 21, 2025, and another for $237,500 June 30, 2025. Former West Marine CEO Chuck Rubin also received a $1.2 million bonus on June 9, 2025.
