“Exxon Valdez”, a name that is now forever connected to one of the world’s most damaging, and certainly the worst oil spill in U.S. history until the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. It was the name of an Exxon oil tanker that spilled around 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska. It was the first-ever oil spill of its type.
So are you curious to know what really went down with the Exxon Valdez oil spill? Was it just an accident or was someone to blame? And what happened next? Did it cause immediate chaos or long-lasting damage? Hang tight for the full story of the Exxon Valdez oil spill!
Why Care About It?
Before we dive in, we’d like to highlight that it is important to learn about oil spills like these because they impose significant threats to marine ecosystems, particularly endangering sea life in various ways. Immediately following a gallons of oil spill, marine animals such as fish, seabirds, otters, whales, dolphins, turtles, and mammals like sea lions, harbor seals, and killer whales suffered visible consequences, often succumbing to poisoning or suffocation as they become coated in oil.
The physical effects are profound, disrupting animals’ abilities to regulate body temperature and buoyancy, sometimes leading to drowning. Additionally, the inhalation of fumes from volatile petroleum products poses health hazards, causing burns, eye irritation, and neurological issues.
Furthermore, oil spills disrupt ecosystems by contaminating food sources and affecting breeding and reproduction, such as through the contamination of nests and thinning of eggshells. While some species, like fast-lifecycle plankton, may recover relatively quickly, others, such as slower-growing creatures like abalone, face longer-term challenges. This underscores the urgent need for robust prevention and response measures to mitigate the devastating impacts of oil spills on marine life.
What Caused the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill?
With no foreknowledge of the disaster that was about to occur, the Exxon Valdez set off from Alaska towards Long Beach, California on the evening of March 23, 1989. The Exxon Valdez ship was under the command of Captain Joseph Hazelwood. Four minutes after midnight the ship struck the Bligh Reef. The reef, which is also sometimes known as Bligh Island Reef, is a well-known navigational hazard. The Valdez was not the first ship to hit the reef, nor was it the last.
Post-accident, it was quickly discovered that the captain was not on the bridge of the ship while it was navigating around. He had left the Valdez in the hands of the unlicensed Third Mate who was unable to maneuver the ship through the reef.
Furthermore, there were suspicions that the Captain had been drinking and was asleep in his bunk when the ship hit the reef. Coupled with reports that indicated that the ship’s radar had been malfunctioning for more than a year before the accident, it was a recipe for disaster to happen. And sure enough – it did.
Repercussions
After the investigation of the incident, Captain Hazelwood was acquitted of being drunk during the accident and was convicted of a single charge of misdemeanor negligence while also being fined $50,000, and ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community service.
Exxon faced significant legal, financial, and reputational repercussions. Here are the key outcomes:
- Financial Penalties and Settlements: Initially, Exxon was ordered to pay $5 billion in punitive damages, which was one of the largest amounts ever for an environmental disaster at the time. However, after numerous appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court drastically reduced this amount to $507.5 million in 2008.
- Cleanup Costs: Exxon claimed to have spent about $2 billion on the cleanup operation immediately following the spill. The cleanup efforts were extensive but could not fully restore the damaged environment.
- Compensation Payments: Exxon paid an additional $1 billion in a settlement with the state of Alaska and the federal government, which included civil and criminal penalties, as well as funding for environmental restoration projects in the affected area.
Impact of the Spill
Today, the Exxon Valdez spill is regarded as one of the worst environmental disasters in world history, alongside other events like Three Mile Island and Chornobyl. The effects of the spill were as disastrous as any nightmare might predict.
The collision ruptured 8 of the 11 cargo tanks meaning that over the next few days, 250,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into the Prince William Sound. This is the equivalent of 11 million gallons of oil.
More than 1,300 miles of coastline were affected and contaminated by the oil, something that was not improved by the delay in cleanup efforts. It quickly became uncontainable and spread farther and farther from the center of the crash. Prior to the spill, the area around Prince William Island was an almost pristine wilderness for its inhabitants. But, the disaster took an enormous toll.
In total, it is estimated that the spill killed:
- 250,000 seabirds
- 3,000 otters (40% of sea otters living in the Sound)
- 300 sea lions
- 250 bald eagles
- 22 orcas (also known as killer whales)
Plus, it is generally believed that the spill significantly impacted the fisheries in the area of Prince William Sound. It has taken years for the populations to return to anywhere near normal, the otter population didn’t recover for twenty-four years after the spill. Exxon lost around $2.8 billion resulting from the spill.
The Cleanup
After the spill, federal responders, Exxon employees, and around 11,000 Alaskan residents worked to clean up the spill. Exxon had to pay around $2 billion in costs and another $1.8 billion for habitat restoration and personal damages.
To remove the oil from the water, workers skimmed the surface, sprayed dispersant chemicals into the water and onto the shore, and power-washed the beaches with hot water. Thousands of animals were rescued from hot oil while others were evacuated. One of the more interesting choices that scientists and federal responders made was to leave some of the areas damaged. They have returned, for years after the accident, to study the effects of the oil on the environment. One of these places is Mearn’s Rock.
Has Anything Changed Since the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill?
Since the Valdez struck Bligh Reef, an automated light was installed with the hope of preventing further accidents. Unfortunately, it was not enough and another ship, the tug Pathfinder, hit the reef in 2009. It too ruptured its tanks and spilled diesel fuel.
President George H.W. Bush signed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 into law, which facilitated the establishment of NOAA’s DARRP program. The law imposed that penalties would be increased for oil spills. The United States and the European Union also eventually banned single-hulled oil tankers in an effort to keep a spill like this from happening again. Unfortunately, this was far from the last major oil spill, even in the United States.
In 2010, what is now considered to be the largest oil spill of all time occurred in the Gulf of Mexico when an explosion damaged the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon drill platform. This resulted in an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil spilling.
Timeline of Events
The following timeline summarises the order of major events before and after the spill:
- Evening–March 23, 1989: Exxon Valdez leaves the port of Valdez, Alaska with 53 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude oil.
- Evening–March 23, 1989: Captain Joseph Hazelwood changed course to avoid icebergs and handed control over to the Third Mate.
- Midnight–12:04 AM– March 24, 1989: The Valdez hit Bligh Reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, tearing an opening in the ship’s hull.
- 1989: Affected residents of Alaska began to file civil lawsuits against Exxon.
- March 1990: Hazelwood was acquitted of felony charges, including being intoxicated while onboard the Valdez. He was convicted of a misdemeanor negligence charge, fined $50,000, and given 1,000 hours of community service.
- 1990: George H.W. Bush signed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 into Law, increasing penalties for companies responsible for oil spills, and banning single-hulled tankers.
- 1991: Exxon pleads guilty to four misdemeanor environmental charges and pays $125 million in fines. The state and federal civil complaints were settled for $900 million.
- 1994: A jury gives the plaintiffs $287 million and $5 billion in actual and punitive damages.
- 1998: Hazelwood starts community service cleaning trash along roads in Anchorage.
- 2002: The European Union banned single-hulled tankers, like the Valdez, from transporting oil.
- 2008: The ship formally known as Valdez, was sold to a Hong Kong shipping company where it became an ore carrier. It collided with another carrier in 2010.
- 2008: The U.S. Supreme Court orders the punitive damages fee lowered to $507.5 million.
- 2012: The ship was renamed again and sold for scrap to an Indian company and dismantled.
- October 15, 2015: The litigation ends.
DARP Program by NOAA
After the Exxon Valdez oil spill changes were made and lessons were learned, with oil spill prevention, response, and clean-up becoming increasingly important across global industries. After the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the Damage, Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Programme (DARP) was founded by NOAA.
Since then, settlement funds have been allocated to support various restoration and conservation projects across Prince William Sound, the Gulf of Alaska, and crucial migratory habitats beyond state borders. These funds, along with contributions from multiple restoration initiatives, have safeguarded over 600,000 acres of land.
For over 30 years, NOAA and partners have recovered over $10.5 billion to restore fish, wildlife, and habitats harmed by pollution.
The restoration has also provided economic and cultural benefits to coastal populations, including underserved and indigenous communities.
Present restoration efforts prioritize:
- Conducting extensive research and monitoring of herring populations.
- Continuously monitoring marine conditions and affected resources over the long term.
- Implementing shorter-term projects to protect and restore harbors.
- Addressing residual oil impacts.
- Protecting vital habitats.
Continuous monitoring of marine conditions and the effectiveness of restoration measures remains an ongoing endeavor.
Ocean Insights: Hear From Our Experts
By Rida Nasir
Researcher and Conservationist, with an MSc in Environmental Science
The Exxon Valdez oil spills holds significant importance in the history. It happened when nobody was prepared for a mega disaster like this. The only benefit it brought with it is the preparedness to tackle the accidental oil spills and establishment of regulations that restores the areas that are affected. For over 30 years, NOAA and partners have recovered over $10.7 billion to restore fish, wildlife, and habitats harmed by pollution through DARP. The sheer scale of the spill, with oil volumes equating to 125 Olympic-sized swimming pools, resulted in widespread devastation, claiming thousands of lives across diverse species and inflicting lasting economic and ecological harm on coastal communities and ecosystems. We must learn from this tragedy and commit to stringent environmental protections and responsible practices. By taking decisive action, we can prevent future disasters and ensure that our oceans remain a resilient and invaluable resource in the fight against climate change.
FAQs
What technologies were developed as a result of the Exxon Valdez spill?
The Exxon Valdez oil spill led to advancements in oil spill response technologies, including more effective skimmers, booms, and bioremediation techniques, which use microorganisms to break down pollutants.
Has marine life in Prince William Sound fully recovered since the spill?
While many species have rebounded, others like the Pacific herring have not recovered to pre-spill levels, indicating ongoing ecosystem disruptions.
Are there any long-term studies on the health of cleanup workers?
Studies have followed cleanup workers for years, finding elevated rates of respiratory symptoms and psychological stress, underscoring the human health impacts of oil spill cleanup efforts.
How long did the initial Exxon Valdez oil cleanup take?
The initial intense cleanup efforts lasted for about four summers after the spill, but the effects of the spill persisted for much longer, with some areas still showing signs of oil decades later.
