Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
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The ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill occurred in
Prince William Sound Prince William Sound (Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Tr ...
,
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, on March 24, 1989. ''
Exxon Valdez ''Oriental Nicety'', formerly ''Exxon Valdez'', ''Exxon Mediterranean'', ''SeaRiver Mediterranean'', ''S/R Mediterranean'', ''Mediterranean'', and ''Dong Fang Ocean'', was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince Wi ...
'', an oil
supertanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...
owned by
Exxon Shipping Company ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30 ...
bound for
Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...
, California struck
Prince William Sound Prince William Sound (Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Tr ...
's Bligh Reef, west of
Tatitlek, Alaska Tatitlek (Alutiiq: ''Taatiilaaq''; russian: Татитлек) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chugach Census Area, United States. The population was 88 at the 2010 census, down from 107 in 2000. Tatitlek is in the Chugach School District ...
at 12:04 a.m. and spilled (or 37,000
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s) of
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
over the next few days. The ''Exxon Valdez'' spill is the second largest in U.S. waters, after the 2010 ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill, in terms of volume of
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
released. Prince William Sound's remote location, accessible only by helicopter, plane, or boat, made government and industry response efforts difficult and made existing response plans especially hard to implement. The region is a
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
for
salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
,
sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the small ...
s,
seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
, and
seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s. The oil, extracted from the
Prudhoe Bay Oil Field Prudhoe Bay Oil Field is a large oil field on Alaska's North Slope. It is the largest oil field in North America, covering and originally containing approximately of oil.
, eventually affected of coastline, of which were heavily or moderately oiled.


Spill

''Exxon Valdez'' was carrying of oil, of which approximately were spilled into the
Prince William Sound Prince William Sound (Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Tr ...
. The ship docked at the Valdez Marine Terminal at 11:30 p.m. on March 22, 1989. Loading of crude oil was completed late in the day on the 23rd. The tanker left the terminal at 9:12 p.m. March 23, 1989 (the deck log shows that it was clear of the dock at 9:21p.m.), loaded with 53,094,510 gallons (1,264,155 barrels) of crude oil. Captain Joseph Hazelwood retired to his cabin at 9:25p.m.
Harbor pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professional ...
William Murphy and Third Mate
Gregory Cousins Gregory Cousins (born 1964), of Tampa, Florida, was third mate at the time of Exxon Valdez oil spill The ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989. '' Exxon Valdez'', an oil supertanker owned by ...
were accompanied by a single tug for the passage through the Valdez Narrows – a journey of about 7 miles. The pilot left the bridge shortly after the vessel left the narrows, at 11:24p.m. At this point, the captain was called to the bridge. Cousins helped the pilot disembark from the vessel, leaving the captain as the only officer on the bridge. At 11:25p.m. ''Exxon Valdez'' reported that the pilot had left. The third mate advised traffic control and decided to deviate from the predetermined traffic lane to avoid small icebergs; a common occurrence since the Columbia Glacier calved such icebergs nearby. The vessel was placed on a due south course and set on autopilot. At 11:47p.m. the vessel left the traffic lane's eastern boundary. Third Mate Cousins had been on duty for 6 hours and was scheduled to be relieved by Second Mate Lloyd LeCain Jr. However, due to the long hours that the second mate had worked, Cousins was reluctant to wake him, and remained on duty. Cousins was the only officer on the bridge for most of the night, in violation of company policy. At around midnight on March 24 Cousins began to maneuver the vessel into the traffic lanes. At the same time, the lookout reported that the Bligh Reef light appeared far off the starboard bow at 45 degrees – this was problematic given that the light should have been off the port side. Cousins ordered a course change as the ship was in danger. Captain Hazelwood was phoned by Cousins, but before their conversation could finish, the ship grounded. At 12:04a.m., accompanied by what the helmsman and Cousins described as “a bumpy ride and “six very sharp jolts” respectively, the ship ran aground on Bligh Reef. Carried by its own momentum, the ship ended up perched on its middle on a pinnacle of rock. 8 out of 11 cargo holds were punctured. 5.8 million gallons of oil drained from the ship within 3 hours and 15 minutes. 30 minutes after numerous attempts to dislodge the ship under her own power, Captain Hazelwood radioed the Coast Guard informing them of the grounding. For more than 45 minutes after the grounding, the captain attempted to maneuver free of the reef despite being informed by
First Mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...
James Kunkel that the vessel was not structurally sound without the reef supporting it. Multiple factors have been identified as contributing to the incident: * Exxon Shipping Company failed to supervise the
master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
(ship's captain) and provide a rested and sufficient crew for ''Exxon Valdez''. The
NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
found this practice was widespread throughout the industry, prompting a safety recommendation to Exxon and to the industry. * The third mate failed to properly maneuver the vessel, possibly due to fatigue or excessive workload. * Exxon Shipping Company failed to properly maintain the
Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...
Collision Avoidance System (RAYCAS)
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
, which, if functional, would have indicated to the third mate an impending collision with the Bligh Reef by detecting the radar reflector placed on the next rock inland from Bligh Reef for the purpose of keeping ships on course. This cause was brought forward by
Greg Palast Gregory Allyn Palast (born June 26, 1952) is an author and a freelance journalist who often worked for the BBC and ''The Guardian''. His work frequently focuses on corporate malfeasance but he has also worked with labour unions and consumer adv ...
and is not presented in the official accident report. Captain Hazelwood, who was widely reported to have been drinking heavily that night, was not at the controls when the ship struck the reef. Exxon blamed Hazelwood for the grounding of the tanker, but he accused the corporation of making him a
scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...
. In a 1990 trial he was charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, and piloting a vessel while intoxicated, but was cleared of the three charges. He was convicted of
misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...
negligent discharge of oil. 21 witnesses testified that he did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol around the time of the accident. Journalist
Greg Palast Gregory Allyn Palast (born June 26, 1952) is an author and a freelance journalist who often worked for the BBC and ''The Guardian''. His work frequently focuses on corporate malfeasance but he has also worked with labour unions and consumer adv ...
stated in 2008: Other factors, according to an
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
course entitled "Software System Safety" by Professor Nancy G. Leveson, included: # Ships were not informed that the previous practice of the Coast Guard tracking ships out to Bligh Reef had ceased. # The oil industry promised, but never installed, state-of-the-art iceberg monitoring equipment. # ''Exxon Valdez'' was sailing outside the normal sea lane to avoid small icebergs thought to be in the area. # Coast Guard vessel inspections in Valdez were not performed, and the number of staff was reduced. # Lack of available equipment and personnel hampered the spill cleanup. This disaster resulted in
International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...
introducing comprehensive
marine pollution Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial waste, industrial, agricultural pollution, agricultural and municipal solid waste, residential waste, particle (ecology), particles, noise, excess carbon dioxid ...
prevention rules (
MARPOL The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978, or "MARPOL 73/78" is one of the most important international marine environmental conventions. MARPOL 73/78, MARPOL is an amalg ...
) through various conventions. The rules were ratified by member countries and, under International Ship Management rules, the ships are being operated with a common objective of "safer ships and cleaner oceans." In 2009, Captain Hazelwood offered a "heartfelt apology" to the people of Alaska, suggesting he had been wrongly blamed for the disaster: "The true story is out there for anybody who wants to look at the facts, but that's not the sexy story and that's not the easy story," he said. Hazelwood said he felt Alaskans always gave him a fair shake.


Clean-up and major effects

Chemical dispersant, a
surfactant Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming ...
and
solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
mixture, was applied to the slick by a private company on March 24 with a helicopter, but the helicopter missed the target area. Scientific data on its toxicity were either thin or incomplete. In addition, public acceptance of new, widespread chemical treatment was lacking. Landowners, fishing groups, and conservation organizations questioned the use of chemicals on hundreds of miles of shoreline when other alternatives might have been available." According to a report by David Kirby for
TakePart TakePart was a website operated by Participant Media, a motion picture studio that focuses on issues of social justice. TakePart was founded in 2008 to promote Participant Media's films as well as make viewers aware of the social advocacy efforts ...
, the main component of the
Corexit Corexit (often styled COREXIT) is a product line of oil dispersants used during oil spill response operations. It is produced by Nalco Holding Company, an indirect subsidiary of Ecolab. Corexit was originally developed by the Standard Oil Compa ...
formulation used during cleanup, 2-butoxyethanol, was identified as "one of the agents that caused
liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...
,
kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...
,
lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...
,
nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...
, and blood disorders among cleanup crews in Alaska following the 1989 ''Exxon Valdez'' spill. Mechanical cleanup was started shortly afterward using booms and skimmers, but the skimmers were not readily available during the first 24 hours following the spill, and thick oil and
kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwat ...
tended to clog the equipment. Despite civilian insistence for a complete cleanup, only 10% of total oil was actually completely cleaned. Exxon was widely criticized for its slow response to cleaning up the disaster and John Devens, the mayor of Valdez, said his community felt betrayed by Exxon's inadequate response to the crisis. More than 11,000 Alaska residents, along with some Exxon employees, worked throughout the region to try to restore the environment. Though the clean-up effort was diligent it failed to contain the majority of the oil that had spilled and that has been blamed heavily upon Exxon. On November 26, 1984 Ronald A. Kreizenbeck(Director, Alaska Operations Office) informed the Coast Guard that the EPA suspected, due to a recent site-visitation during a 'Annual Marine Drill' that the Port of Valdez was not prepared to 'efficiently respond to a major spill event'. In the letter, he stated that ' tappears that the Vikoma boom and/or deployment vessels used may not be adequate to handle the harsh environmental conditions of Port Valdez' Because Prince William Sound contained many rocky coves where the oil was collected, the decision was made to displace it with high-pressure hot water. However, this also displaced and destroyed the microbial populations on the shoreline; many of these organisms (e.g.
plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...
) are the basis of the coastal marine food chain, and others (e.g. certain bacteria and fungi) are capable of facilitating the
biodegradation Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegrada ...
of oil. At the time, both scientific advice and public pressure was to clean everything, but since then, a much greater understanding of
natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
and facilitated remediation processes has developed, due somewhat in part to the opportunity presented for study by the ''Exxon Valdez'' spill. Despite the extensive cleanup attempts, less than ten percent of the oil was recovered. Both long-term and short-term effects of the oil spill have been studied. Immediate effects include the deaths of between 100,000 and 250,000 seabirds, at least 2,800
sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the small ...
s, approximately 12 river otters, 300
harbor seals The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared se ...
, 247
bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
s, and 22
orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black ...
s, and an unknown number of salmon and herring. Nine years after the disaster, evidence of negative oil spill effects on marine birds was found in the following species:
cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
s, goldeneyes,
merganser ''Mergus'' is the genus of the typical mergansers , fish-eating ducks in the subfamily Anatinae. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny the Elder and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird. The common merganser (''Mer ...
s,
murre ''Uria'' is a genus of seabirds in the auk family known in Britain as guillemots, in most of North America as murres, and in Newfoundland and Labrador as turr. These are medium-sized birds with mainly brown or black plumage in the breeding sea ...
s and
pigeon guillemot The pigeon guillemot (''Cepphus columba'') () is a species of bird in the auk family, Alcidae. One of three species in the genus ''Cepphus'', it is most closely related to the spectacled guillemot. There are five subspecies of the pigeon guil ...
s. Although the volume of oil has declined considerably, with oil remaining only about 0.14–0.28% of the original spilled volume, studies suggest that the area of oiled beach has changed little since 1992. A study by the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA in
Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...
, determined that by 2001 approximately 90 tonnes of oil remained on beaches in Prince William Sound in the sandy soil of the contaminated shoreline, with annual loss rates declining from 68% per year prior to 1992, to 4% per year after 2001. The remaining oil lasting far longer than anticipated has resulted in more long-term losses of species than had been expected. Laboratory experiments found that at levels as low as one part per billion,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is a class of organic compounds that is composed of multiple aromatic rings. The simplest representative is naphthalene, having two aromatic rings and the three-ring compounds anthracene and phenanthrene. ...
are toxic for salmon and herring eggs. Species as diverse as sea otters, harlequin ducks, and orcas suffered immediate and long-term losses. Oiled mussel beds and other tidal shoreline habitats may take up to 30 years to recover.
ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
denied concerns over the remaining oil, stating that they anticipated the remaining fraction would not cause long-term ecological impacts. According to the conclusions of
ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
's study: "We've done 350 peer-reviewed studies of Prince William Sound, and those studies conclude that Prince William Sound has recovered, it's healthy and it's thriving." On March 24, 2014, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the spill,
NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
scientists reported that some species seem to have recovered, with the sea otter the latest creature to return to pre-spill numbers. Scientists who have monitored the spill area for the last 25 years report that concern remains for one of two pods of local orca whales, with fears that one pod may eventually die out. Federal scientists estimate that between 16,000 and 21,000 US gallons (61 to 79 m3) of oil remains on beaches in Prince William Sound and up to 450 miles (725 km) away. Some of the oil does not appear to have biodegraded at all. A
USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...
scientist who analyses the remaining oil along the coastline states that it remains among rocks and between tide marks. "The oil mixes with seawater and forms an emulsion...Left out, the surface crusts over but the inside still has the consistency of mayonnaise – or mousse." Alaska state senator Berta Gardner is urging Alaskan politicians to demand that the US government force ExxonMobil to pay the final $92 million (£57 million) still owed from the court settlement. The major part of the money would be spent to finish cleaning up oiled beaches and attempting to restore the crippled herring population. As of 2012, the indirect and long-term sublethal effects of oil on shorebirds had been measured in relatively few studies.


Litigation and cleanup costs

In October 1989, Exxon filed a suit against the State of
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, claiming that the state had interfered with Exxon's attempts to clean up the spill by refusing to approve the use of dispersant chemicals until the night of the 26th. The State of Alaska disputed this claim, stating that there was a long-standing agreement to allow the use of dispersants to clean up spills, thus Exxon did not require permission to use them, and that, in fact, Exxon had not had enough dispersant on hand to effectively handle a spill of the size created by ''Exxon Valdez''. Exxon filed claims in October 1990 against the Coast Guard, asking to be reimbursed for cleanup costs and damages awarded to plaintiffs in any lawsuits filed by the State of Alaska or the federal government against Exxon. The company claimed that the Coast Guard was "wholly or partially responsible" for the spill, because they had granted mariners' licenses to the crew of the Valdez, and because they had given ''Exxon Valdez'' permission to leave regular shipping lanes to avoid ice. They also reiterated the claim that the Coast Guard had delayed cleanup by refusing to give permission to immediately use chemical dispersants on the spill. Also, in 1991, Exxon made a quiet, separate financial settlement of damages with a group of seafood producers known as the
Seattle Seven The Seattle Seven is a group of seven seafood companies, operating in the city of Seattle, known for negotiating a secret agreement with Exxon Corporation in 1991, relating to punitive damages resulting from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The compa ...
for the disaster's effect on the Alaskan seafood industry. The agreement granted $63.75 million to the Seattle Seven, but stipulated that the seafood companies would have to repay almost all of any punitive damages awarded in other civil proceedings. The $5 billion in punitive damages was awarded later, and the Seattle Seven's share could have been as high as $750 million if the damages award had held. Other plaintiffs have objected to this secret arrangement, and when it came to light, Judge Holland ruled that Exxon should have told the jury at the start that an agreement had already been made, so the jury would know exactly how much Exxon would have to pay. In the case of '' Exxon v. Baker'', an
Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
jury awarded $287 million for
actual damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...
and $5 billion for
punitive damages Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. ...
. To protect itself in case the judgment was affirmed, Exxon obtained a $4.8 billion credit line from J.P. Morgan & Co., who created the first modern
credit default swap A credit default swap (CDS) is a financial swap agreement that the seller of the CDS will compensate the buyer in the event of a debt default (by the debtor) or other credit event. That is, the seller of the CDS insures the buyer against som ...
so that they would not have to hold as much money in reserve against the risk of Exxon's default. Meanwhile, Exxon appealed the ruling, and the
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...
ordered the trial judge, Russel Holland, to reduce the punitive damages. On December 6, 2002, Holland announced that he had reduced the damages to $4 billion, which he concluded was justified by the facts of the case and was not grossly excessive. Exxon appealed again and the case returned to Holland to be reconsidered in light of a recent
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
ruling in a similar case. Holland increased the punitive damages to $4.5 billion, plus interest. After more appeals, in December 2006 the damages award was cut to $2.5 billion. The court of appeals cited recent Supreme Court rulings relative to limits on punitive damages. Exxon appealed again. On May 23, 2007, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied ExxonMobil's request for a third hearing and let stand its ruling that Exxon owed $2.5 billion in punitive damages. Exxon then appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case. On February 27, 2008, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments.
Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...
, who at the time owned between $100,000 and $250,000 in Exxon stock, recused himself from the case. In a decision issued June 25, 2008, written by Justice
David Souter David Hackett Souter ( ; born September 17, 1939) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1990 until his retirement in 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat t ...
, the court vacated the $2.5 billion award and remanded the case back to the lower court, finding that the damages were excessive with respect to maritime common law. Exxon's actions were deemed "worse than negligent but less than malicious." The punitive damages were further reduced to an amount of $507.5 million. The Court's ruling was that maritime punitive damages should not exceed the compensatory damages, supported by a precedent dating from 1818.
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...
Chairman
Patrick J. Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
has decried the ruling as "another in a line of cases where this Supreme Court has misconstrued congressional intent to benefit large corporations." Exxon's official position was that punitive damages greater than $25 million were not justified because the spill resulted from an accident, and because Exxon spent an estimated $2 billion cleaning up the spill and a further $1 billion to settle related civil and criminal charges. Attorneys for the plaintiffs contended that Exxon bore responsibility for the accident because the company "put a drunk in charge of a tanker in Prince William Sound." Exxon recovered a significant portion of clean-up and legal expenses through insurance claims associated with the grounding of ''Exxon Valdez''. As of December 15, 2009, Exxon had paid the entire $507.5 million in punitive damages, including lawsuit costs, plus interest, which were further distributed to thousands of plaintiffs. This amount was 1/10th of the original punitive damages, Exxon remained hugely profitable, the process of payment was drawn out over decades, and long term damage continues and is not funded by Exxon. Hence, the Exxon spill is often cited as shorthand for corporate responsibility for societal damage not being enforced adequately.


Political consequences and reforms


Coast Guard report

A 1989 report by the Coast Guard's U.S. National Response Center summarized the event and made many recommendations, including that neither Exxon,
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company The Alyeska consortium refers to the major oil companies that own and operate the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) through the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. History The Alaska corporation commonly known as Alyeska Pipeline Company was fou ...
, the State of Alaska, nor the federal government were prepared for a spill of this magnitude.


Oil Pollution Act of 1990

In response to the spill, the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
passed the
Oil Pollution Act of 1990 The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) (101 H.R.1465, P.L. 101-380) was passed by the 101st United States Congress and signed by President George H. W. Bush. It works to avoid oil spills from vessels and facilities by enforcing removal of spilled ...
(OPA). The legislation included a clause that prohibits any vessel that, after March 22, 1989, has caused an oil spill of more than in any marine area, from operating in Prince William Sound. In April 1998, the company argued in a legal action against the federal government that the ship should be allowed back into Alaskan waters. Exxon claimed OPA was effectively a
bill of attainder A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder or writ of attainder or bill of penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and punishing them, often without a trial. As with attai ...
, a regulation that was unfairly directed at Exxon alone. In 2002, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Exxon. As of 2002, OPA had prevented 18 ships from entering Prince William Sound. OPA also set a schedule for the gradual phase-in of a
double hull A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some dis ...
design, providing an additional layer between the oil tanks and the ocean. While a double hull would likely not have prevented the ''Exxon Valdez'' disaster, a Coast Guard study estimated that it would have cut the amount of oil spilled by 60 percent. ''
Exxon Valdez ''Oriental Nicety'', formerly ''Exxon Valdez'', ''Exxon Mediterranean'', ''SeaRiver Mediterranean'', ''S/R Mediterranean'', ''Mediterranean'', and ''Dong Fang Ocean'', was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince Wi ...
'' was towed to San Diego, arriving on July 10. Repairs began on July 30. Approximately of steel were removed and replaced. In June 1990, the tanker, renamed ''Exxon Mediterranean'', left the harbor after $30 million of repairs. In 1993, owned by SeaRiver Maritime, it was named ''S/R Mediterranean'', then in 2005 ''Mediterranean''. In 2008 the vessel was acquired by a Hong Kong company that operated her as ''Dong Fang Ocean'', then in 2011 renamed her ''Oriental Nicety''. In August 2012, she was beached at Dalian, China, and dismantled.


Alaska regulations

In the aftermath of the spill, Alaska governor Steve Cowper issued an executive order requiring two
tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
s to escort every loaded tanker from Valdez out through Prince William Sound to Hinchinbrook Entrance. As the plan evolved in the 1990s, one of the two routine tugboats was replaced with a Escort Response Vehicle (ERV). Tankers at Valdez are no longer single-hulled. Congress enacted legislation requiring all tankers to be double-hulled as of 2015.


Economic and personal impact

In 1991, following the collapse of the local marine population (particularly clams, herring, and seals) the
Chugach Alaska Corporation Chugach Alaska Corporation, or CAC, is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. Chugach Alaska Corporation was incorporated ...
, an
Alaska Native Corporation The Alaska Native Regional Corporations were established in 1971 when the United States Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) which settled land and financial claims made by the Alaska Natives and provided for the establis ...
, filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...
. It has since recovered. According to several studies funded by the state of Alaska, the spill had both short-term and long-term economic effects. These included the loss of
recreational sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, t ...
s, fisheries, reduced tourism, and an estimate of what economists call "
existence value Existence values are a class of economic value, reflecting the benefit people receive from knowing that a particular environmental resource, such as Antarctica, the Grand Canyon, endangered species, or any other organism or thing exists. Existenc ...
", which is the value to the public of a pristine Prince William Sound. The economy of the city of Cordova, Alaska was adversely affected after the spill damaged stocks of
salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
and
herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
in the area. The village of Chenega was transformed into an emergency base and media outlet. The local villagers had to cope with a tripling of their population from 80 to 250. When asked how they felt about the situation, a village councilor noted that they were too shocked and busy to be depressed; others emphasized the human costs of leaving children unattended while their parents worked to clean up. Many Native Americans were worried that too much time was spent on the fishery and not enough on the land that supports subsistence hunting. In 2010,
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
reported on studies concluding that many oil spill cleanup workers involved in the ''Exxon Valdez'' response had subsequently become sick, and warned those exposed to the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered ...
to take heed. Anchorage lawyer Dennis Mestas found that this was true for 6,722 of 11,000 worker files he was able to inspect, despite access to the records being controlled by Exxon. Exxon denied this in a statement to
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
: Environmental activists and State officials became concerned that BP would use similar techniques to minimize liability and de-emphasize health impacts:


Reactions

In 1992, Exxon released a video titled ''Scientists and the Alaska Oil Spill'' for distribution to schools. Critics said the video misrepresented the clean-up process. In December 1994, the
Unabomber Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber (), is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide ...
assassinated
Burson-Marsteller Burson Cohn & Wolfe is a multinational public relations and communications firm, headquartered in New York City. In February 2018, parent WPP Group PLC announced that it had merged its subsidiaries Cohn & Wolfe with Burson-Marsteller. The comb ...
executive Thomas J. Mosser, accusing him of having "helped Exxon clean up its public image after the ''Exxon Valdez'' incident".


In popular culture

Several weeks after the spill, ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' aired a pointed sketch featuring
Kevin Nealon Kevin Nealon (; born November 18, 1953) is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1995, acted in several of the Happy Madison films, played Doug Wilson on the Showtime series '' Weeds'', and pr ...
,
Phil Hartman Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States w ...
, and
Victoria Jackson Victoria Jackson (born August 2, 1959) is an American actress, comedian, and singer who was a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) from 1986 to 1992. Early life Jackson was born in Miami, Florida ...
as cleanup workers struggling to scrub the oil off of animals and rocks on a beach in Prince William Sound. A two-part story arc in the DC Comics title Green Arrow is inspired by the event. In the 1995 film ''
Waterworld ''Waterworld'' is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It was based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it with Charl ...
'', ''Exxon Valdez'' is the flagship of the movie's villain, "The Deacon," the leader of a band of scavenging raiders. In the ship is a portrait of their patron saint,
Joseph Hazelwood Joseph Jeffrey Hazelwood (September 24, 1946 – ) was an American sailor. He was the captain of ''Exxon Valdez'' during her 1989 oil spill. He was accused of being intoxicated which contributed to the disaster, but was cleared of this charge ...
. In the second
Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and ...
novel, ''
Gump and Co. ''Gump & Co.'' (or ''Forrest Gump and Co.'') is a 1995 novel by Winston Groom. It is the sequel to his 1986 novel '' Forrest Gump'' and the Academy Award-winning 1994 film of the same name starring Tom Hanks. It was written to chronicle Forre ...
'' by
Winston Groom Winston Francis Groom Jr. (March 23, 1943 – September 17, 2020) was an American novelist and non-fiction writer. He is best known for his novel '' Forrest Gump'' (1986), which became a cultural phenomenon after being adapted as a 1994 film of ...
, Gump commandeers ''Exxon Valdez'' and accidentally crashes it. Composer
Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...
wrote a song called "Iron Mike" about the oil spill. The song is written in the style of a
sea shanty A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ''shanty ...
. It was first professionally recorded by
George Salazar George Ernest Salazar (born March 7, 1986) is an American actor, singer, and musician known for his work on and off-Broadway. He made his Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of Stephen Schwartz's ''Godspell''. Salazar originated the role of as ...
for the album ''The Jonathan Larson Project''. The 1992 made-for-television film '' Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster'', produced by
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
, dramatized the oil spill disaster. On Sep 25, 1998, the fifth episode of the fourth season of ''
Pinky and the Brain ''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American animated television series that was created by Tom Ruegger that premiered on Kids' WB on September 9, 1995. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Surround and the fourth col ...
'', "The Pinky and the Brain Reunion Special," showed a brief snippet of Brain and Pinky boarding the ''Exxon Valdez'', thus insinuating they were the cause of the grounding. In season 2, episode 8, of ''
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'', entitled "
Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
",
Walter White Walter White most often refers to: * Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad'' * Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP Walter White may also refer to: Fictional characters ...
tells
Jesse Pinkman Jesse Bruce Pinkman is a main character in the American television series '' Breaking Bad'', played by Aaron Paul. He is a crystal meth cook and dealer and works with his former high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston). Jess ...
that Brandon "Badger" Mayhew is going to spill like the ''Exxon Valdez''.


See also

*
List of oil spills This is a reverse-chronological list of oil spills that have occurred throughout the world and spill(s) that are currently ongoing. Quantities are measured in tonnes of crude oil with one tonne roughly equal to 308 US gallons, 256 Imperial gallon ...
* ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill *
Ixtoc I oil spill Ixtoc 1 was an exploratory oil well being drilled by the semi-submersible drilling rig ''Sedco 135'' in the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico, about northwest of Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche in waters deep. On 3 June 1979, the well suffered ...
* '' Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster,'' 1992
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
movie *
Martin County coal slurry spill The Martin County coal slurry spill was a mining accident that occurred after midnight on October 11, 2000, when the bottom of a coal slurry impoundment owned by Massey Energy in Martin County, Kentucky, broke into an abandoned underground mi ...
*
Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill The Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill was an environmental and industrial disaster that occurred on Monday December 22, 2008, when a dike ruptured at a coal ash pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant in Roan ...


References


Further reading

*


External links


NTSB safety recommendation to address crew management deficiencies at Exxon and in industry

''Exxon Valdez'' Oil Spill Trustee Council

ExxonMobil updates and news on ''Valdez''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 1989 controversies 1989 disasters in the United States 1989 in Alaska 1989 in the environment 1989 industrial disasters Chugach Census Area, Alaska Disasters in Alaska Environment of Alaska Valdez Oil Spill March 1989 events in North America Maritime incidents in 1989 Maritime incidents in the United States Oil spills in the United States Transportation disasters in Alaska Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Petroleum in Alaska