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