Exxon Valdez

Exxon Valdez

What happened?

The Exxon Valdez was the original name of the oil tanker owned by the Exxon Corporation and was made famous by the monstrous oil spill that occurred on March 24th, 1989. The 30,000 ton, 987 foot tanker hit Prince William Sounds Bligh Reef and spilled an estimated 11 to 30 million gallons of crude oil. As a result of the spill hundreds of thousands of animals perished immediately. Estimates conclude that: 250,00 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, about 22 orcas and billions of salmon and herring eggs. The spill also killed off the majority of the plankton supply in the sound.

How did the Exxon Valdez go aground and spill oil?

The Exxon Valdez departed from the Trans Alaska Pipeline terminal at 9:12 pm, March 23, 1989. William Murphy the expert ship's pilot hired to maneuver the 987-foot oil tanker through the Valdez Narrows was in control of the wheelhouse. At his side was the captain of the vessel, Captain Joseph Hazelwood. Helmsman Harry Claar was steering the vessel at this time. After passing through Valdez Narrows, pilot William Murphy left the vessel and Captain Hazelwood took over the wheelhouse. The Exxon Valdez encountered icebergs in the shipping lanes and Captain Hazelwood ordered Claar to take the Exxon Valdez out of the shipping lanes to go around the ice. He then handed over control of the wheelhouse to Third Mate Gregory Cousins with precise instructions to turn back into the shipping lanes when the tanker reached a certain point. The master then left the bridge about eleven minutes before the accident, leaving only one person on the bridge, a situation which is against company policies At that time, Helmsman Robert Kagan replaced Claar. For reasons that remain unclear, Cousins and Kagan failed to make the turn back into the shipping lanes and the ship ran aground on Bligh Reef at 12:04 a.m. March 24, 1989. Captain Hazelwood was in his quarters at the time.

Why did it happen?

The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident and determined five probable causes of the grounding:

(1) The third mate failed to properly maneuver the vessel, possibly due to fatigue and excessive workload

(2) The master failed to provide a proper navigation watch, possibly due to impairment from alcohol

(3) Exxon Shipping Company failed to supervise the master and provide a rested and sufficient crew for the Exxon Valdez

(4) The U.S. Coast Guard failed to provide an effective vessel traffic system; and

(5) Effective pilot and escort services were lacking.

7) Third Mate Cousins, the officer on duty at the time, told his replacement to take his time relieving him and neglected to call and wake him up for his shift because he knew his replacement had worked long hours during loading operations that day.

8) Cousins had been up for eighteen hours preceding the accident, and points to fatigue as a likely factor contributing to the grounding of the boat.

Was Captin Hazelwood Intoxicated?

Many witnesses stated that Captain Hazelwood at a local bar and he himself also addmitted to having some alcoholic drinks. A blood test showed alcohol was in his blood even hours after the accident. However the Captain Hazelwood claims that the alcohol did not impair his abilities to properly perform his duties. The state charged him with operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol. A jury in Alaska, however, found him not guilty of that charge. The jury did find him guilty of negligent discharge of oil, a misdemeanor. Hazelwood was fined $50,000 and sentenced to one thousand hours of community service in Alaska. Hazelwood completed the community service ahead of schedule in 2001. He picked up trash along the Seward Highway and worked at Bean's CafÐ"©, a facility for the homeless in Anchorage.

What has been done since the Exxon Valdez oil spill?

After this damaging spill, many measures were taken to prevent any other spills and to be prepared if one should occur. The Environmental