Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

The Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker that was ship that was carry 11 million gallons of crude oil from Alaska to California. This spill created an oil payer that covered 1,300 miles of the coast and killed thousands of animals all across the pacific coast.

This oil spill was caused by hitting the Bligh Reef, which at this time was a well-known area, because of how hard it was to navigate around. The impact tore a hole in the ships hull and caused all the oil in the tanks to get exerted into the water. After people were investigating this crash it was learned that the captain of the Exxon Valdez, Joseph Hazelwood, was drinking and allowed an unlicensed third mate steer the ship through the Bligh Reef.

He was only charged with misdemeanor negligence and was fined 50,000 dollars. But even though this was not the biggest deal for the captain it became a huge effort to clean up the spill. Exxon employees and Alaskan residents worked to clean up the spill and in the end cost Exxon 3.8 billion dollars.

This spill did more than displace the families that relied on this area to fish it killed sea life. It was said to have killed 250,000 sea birds, 3,000 otters, 300 seals, 250 bald eagles and 22 killer whales. This spill led to legislation for these kinds of spills called the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. This increased the penalties for the companies responsible for oil spills and made it mandatory for all oil tankers in the Unite States to have a double hull. These tankers were also banned in the EU in 2002, and the fate of the Exxon Valdez finally rests in Asian waters now.

https://www.nature.com/news/exxon-valdez-laid-to-rest-1.11141
https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/significant-incidents/exxon-valdez-oil-spill/never-ending-history-life-rock.html