Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

The worst fears of environmentalists about oil development came true in 1989.  On March 24, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef, a well-known navigation hazard in Prince William Sound. Investigators later learned that the Exxon Valdez's Captain, Joseph Hazelwood, had been drinking that day and allowed an unlicensed member of the crew to steer the massive tanker. Another important contributing factor was that the ship's radar had been broken for over a year. If that had been functioning correctly, the accident likely would have been averted. 

After running aground, the ship spilled an estimated 11 million gallons of North Slope crude oil into the Sound. It was the second-largest oil spill in U.S. history and a major environmental catastrophe for Alaska. The oil fouled 1,300 miles of wildlife-abundant shoreline from Cordova to Kodiak Island and killed hundreds of thousands of seabirds and marine mammals. 

Exxon employees, federal responders, and more than 11,000 Alaska residents worked for months to clean up the oil spill. But their efforts were only partially successful. It is estimated that 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, up to 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and at least 22 killer whales were killed. Fish populations, including commercial fisheries of herring and salmon, were also gravely impacted.

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