Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (1989): Disaster in Prince William Sound

The Exxon Valdez oil spill began just after midnight on 24 March 1989, when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Around 11 million US gallons of crude oil poured into one of the richest marine environments in North America, eventually fouling about 1,300 miles of coastline. It was then the largest oil spill in US waters, and it transformed American law on oil pollution and public attitudes toward the oil industry.

Background

Oil was discovered at Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope in 1968. To bring it to market, the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline was built to the ice-free port of Valdez, at the head of Prince William Sound, and began operating in 1977. From there, tankers carried the oil south to refineries on the US West Coast.

Prince William Sound is a large, island-studded inlet of the Gulf of Alaska, rich in salmon, herring, sea otters, seabirds and whales. Fishing communities such as Cordova and Native villages such as Tatitlek and Chenega depended on its waters. Critics had warned that a major spill there was possible and that response plans were inadequate. Over the 1980s, oil companies and regulators had reduced some of the spill-response capacity originally promised when the pipeline was approved, a point later stressed by the Alaska Oil Spill Commission.

The Exxon Valdez was a single-hull tanker 987 feet long, delivered in 1986 and operated by Exxon Shipping Company. On the evening of 23 March 1989 it left the Alyeska terminal at Valdez carrying about 53 million gallons of crude oil.

The grounding

After the harbor pilot left the ship, Captain Joseph Hazelwood radioed the Coast Guard that he would leave the outbound shipping lane to avoid icebergs calved from the Columbia Glacier. He then left the bridge, putting the third mate in charge of the navigation watch, with an able seaman at the helm.

The ship was supposed to turn back toward the lane near Busby Island. The turn was made too late. At about 12:04 am on 24 March the Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef, tearing open eight of its 11 cargo tanks. Within hours, millions of gallons of oil had spread across the calm water.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) later found several causes. The third mate failed to maneuver the ship properly, possibly because of fatigue and excessive workload. The captain failed to provide a proper navigation watch, possibly because of impairment from alcohol. Exxon had failed to supervise the master and to provide a rested and sufficient crew. The Coast Guard’s vessel traffic system was ineffective, and pilotage services were inadequate.

The response

The response was slow and disorganized. The containment barge operated by Alyeska, the pipeline consortium responsible for the first response, was out of service and had to be reloaded, and equipment arrived hours late. During the first three days the sea was calm, the best conditions for skimming or burning oil, but little was recovered. Arguments over the use of chemical dispersants added to the delay.

On the evening of 26 March a strong storm with winds of over 70 miles per hour drove the oil onto beaches and spread it across the sound. Over the following weeks the slick moved southwest along the Kenai Peninsula and toward Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula, eventually reaching about 470 miles from Bligh Reef.

About 42 million gallons of the cargo remaining aboard was pumped into other tankers, and the Exxon Valdez was refloated on 5 April and towed away for repairs.

The clean-up

The clean-up was one of the largest ever mounted. At its peak in the summer of 1989, about 11,000 workers, 1,400 vessels and 85 aircraft took part, including the US Navy, Coast Guard and Alaska National Guard. Workers sprayed beaches with high-pressure hot water, used absorbent pads and skimmers, and tested fertilizers to speed natural breakdown of oil by bacteria.

Only a small fraction of the spilled oil was ever recovered; much evaporated, broke down or sank. Scientists later concluded that hot-water washing had killed many of the shoreline organisms that might otherwise have survived. Exxon ended its active clean-up in 1992 and said it had spent about $2.1 billion on the effort.

Environmental damage

The spill struck in early spring, just as birds were migrating and fish were spawning. Commonly cited estimates of deaths include about 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles and up to 22 killer whales, along with billions of salmon and herring eggs. These figures are approximations, because many animals sank or were never recovered.

Some species recovered within years, but others did not. The Pacific herring population of Prince William Sound collapsed in 1993, and the fishery has stayed closed for most years since; scientists still debate how much of that collapse was due to the spill. One pod of killer whales lost many members and has not recovered. Long-term studies found oil buried in beach sediments decades later.

Recovery was monitored for decades by the Trustee Council, which kept a list of injured species and resources. By the 2010s it classed many, including bald eagles, river otters and pink salmon, as recovered, while others, such as Pacific herring and some killer whale groups, were listed as not recovering. Sea otters in the most heavily oiled bays took more than 20 years to return to pre-spill numbers.

The disaster also harmed people. Commercial fishing was closed in large areas, and Alaska Native communities lost access to traditional foods. Studies recorded increased stress, social conflict and economic hardship in affected towns.

Lawsuits and settlements

In 1990 an Alaska jury acquitted Captain Hazelwood of operating a vessel while intoxicated but convicted him of the misdemeanor of negligently discharging oil. He was fined $50,000 and ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community service, which he served in Anchorage.

In 1991 Exxon pleaded guilty to environmental crimes and agreed to pay a $25 million criminal fine and $100 million in restitution, plus $900 million over ten years to settle civil claims by the US and Alaska governments. The money was managed by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, which bought and protected hundreds of thousands of acres of habitat and funded scientific research.

Fishermen, Alaska Natives and others filed private suits. In 1994 a federal jury in Anchorage awarded $5 billion in punitive damages. After years of appeals the amount was reduced to $2.5 billion, and in 2008, in Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, the US Supreme Court cut it to about $507.5 million, ruling that punitive damages in maritime cases should generally not exceed compensatory damages. Many plaintiffs had died while the case was still running. The long legal battle became a symbol, for many Alaskans, of the difficulty of holding a large corporation fully accountable. Exxon, which merged with Mobil in 1999 to form ExxonMobil, argued that it had already paid billions of dollars in clean-up costs, settlements and voluntary compensation to those affected.

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990

The disaster led Congress to pass the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, signed by President George H. W. Bush on 18 August 1990. The law raised spill liability limits, created the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, required detailed response plans for tankers and facilities, and set a timetable for phasing out single-hull tankers in US waters by 2015.

In Prince William Sound, escort tugs now accompany laden tankers through the sound, and a citizens’ advisory council monitors the industry. Comparable reforms followed internationally, where the International Maritime Organization required double hulls for new tankers from the 1990s. Similar debates had followed earlier spills, such as the Torrey Canyon in 1967 and the Santa Barbara spill in 1969.

By the numbers

Timeline

• 1977, June: The Trans-Alaska Pipeline begins carrying oil to Valdez.
• 1989, 23 March, evening: The Exxon Valdez leaves the Valdez terminal.
• 1989, 24 March, about 12:04 am: The tanker strikes Bligh Reef.
• 1989, 26–27 March: A storm spreads the oil across Prince William Sound.
• 1989, 5 April: The Exxon Valdez is refloated.
• 1990, March: Captain Hazelwood is convicted of a misdemeanor and acquitted of more serious charges.
• 1990, 18 August: The Oil Pollution Act becomes law.
• 1991, October: Exxon’s $1 billion criminal and civil settlement is approved.
• 1994, September: A jury awards $5 billion in punitive damages.
• 2008, 25 June: The Supreme Court reduces punitive damages to about $507.5 million.

Why it matters

The Exxon Valdez spill was not the largest in world history, but it struck a remote and precious ecosystem and was seen by millions on television. It revealed how unprepared industry and government were for a major spill and led directly to stronger laws, double-hulled tankers and better response planning. It remained the worst oil spill in US waters until the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010.