Captain Of Exxon Valdez Oil Tanker Dies At Age 75

The Washington Post reports:

Joseph Hazelwood, captain of the tanker Exxon Valdez when it ran aground in Alaska’s Prince William Sound in March 1989, leaking 10.8 million gallons of crude oil in a massive environmental catastrophe that ravaged maritime habitats and brought sweeping inquests into who was to blame, died on July 21. He was 75.

The toll to the animal population included up to 250,000 dead seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals and 250 bald eagles, the trustee council estimated.

Coastal communities that depended on fishing were devastated — and decades later, have yet to fully recover. Images of rescue teams scrubbing oil-soaked birds and shoveling gooey beach rocks became rallying points for environmentalists and others pushing for stronger controls on the oil industry.

The New York Times reports:



The Exxon Valdez spill blackened 1,500 miles of the Gulf of Alaska coastline, home to rich fishing grounds and wildlife. It contributed to the passage by Congress of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which streamlined and strengthened the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil spills.

A jury acquitted Captain Hazelwood of a felony charge of operating a vessel while intoxicated but convicted him on a misdemeanor charge of negligently discharging oil, resulting in a $50,000 fine and 1,000 hours of community service. The Coast Guard suspended his license for some nine months. He never returned to the seas.

The National Transportation Safety Board found that the ship’s third mate had failed to properly maneuver the vessel because of fatigue and excessive workload, and that Captain Hazelwood had failed to provide a proper navigation watch because he was impaired by alcohol.