It carried a crew of 19 plus the captain. The Oriental Nicety (née Exxon Valdez), born in 1986 in San Diego, California, has died after a long struggle with bad publicity. Already registered? In 2005, the S/R Mediterranean was reflagged under the Marshall Islands after having remained a U.S.-flagged ship for 20 years (reportedly in the hopes that it eventually would have been permitted to re-enter the Alaska – U.S. West Coast – Panama route for which it had been designed). Exxon spent over $3.8 billion to cleanup the area. Many factors complicated the cleanup efforts following the spill. The captain drinks a toast to "Saint Joe" — Captain Hazelwood — whose portrait is nailed to his cabin wall. What mainly caused this disaster, and how could it have been prevented or how can we prevent this disaster from happening again in the future? The ship was reportedly beached on August 2, 2012. Article by Gary Shigenaka, NOAA. The article was first published on NOAA’s Response and Restoration Blog. Its days as a tanker also came to an end, as the Dong Fang Ocean was converted into a bulk ore carrier at Guangzhou CSSC-Oceanline-GWS Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., China. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the landmark law resulting from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, legislated the phase-out of all single-hulled tankers from U.S. waters by 2015. But on 23 March 1989, she entered history after her captain, Joseph Hazelwood, eased her out of the shipping lane. Nearly a year and $30 million later, the ship emerged for sea trials as the Exxon Mediterranean. On March 24, 1989 the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of oil. In 2002, the European Union outlawed single-hulled oil tankers, and the erstwhile Valdez, now called simply the Mediterranean, was sent to Asian waters. Since the incident occurred in open navigable waters, the U.S. Coast Guard's On-Scene Coordinator had authority for all activities related to the cleanup effort. This proved more effective than the other means utilized earlier in the cleanup. courses that prepare you to earn He has worked countless spills since then, in the U.S. and internationally. Working Scholars® Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community, Shortly after the spill, ships tried using. The Exxon Valdez was the worst oil spill in U.S. waters until the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Many of the workers who fell ill later died or are permanently disabled, and this is thought to be related to being exposed to oil and fumes from the cleanup efforts. 's' : ''}}. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred March 24, 1989, in Prince William Sound. A complete ban on single-hulled tankers was to be phased in on an accelerated schedule in 2005 and 2010. They tried to burn it and use skimmers to remove it, and finally utilized dispersants to break it down. Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem. Alyeska opened an emergency communications center in Valdez shortly after the spill was reported and set up a second operations center in Anchorage, Alaska. One result was the passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which led to the establishment of NOAA’s DARRP program. The Indian Supreme Court forbade docking of the ship and imposed an environmental audit. You will be re-directed back to this page where you will see comments updating in real-time and have the ability to recommend comments to other users. Exxon Mediterranean in Trieste, Italy, July 1991. The ship was once again renamed, to Dong Fang Ocean, and reflagged under Panamanian registry. In 2010, she celebrated the 21st anniversary of the Exxon Valdez disaster by smashing into the cargo ship Aali in the Yellow Sea, amputating her own anchors and piercing the Aali's ballast tanks. Continued bad weather slowed down the recovery efforts. ", Erika Ammann While Sea River had argued that the law unfairly singled out and punished its tanker, and that there was no reason to believe that a tanker guilty of spilling in the past would spill in the future, the three-judge panel disagreed unanimously. Shanta Barley Exxon Valdez oil spill workers and maxi-barge hose beach after Corexit test on Quayle beach, Smith lsland in Prince William Sound, Alaska, US, on 7 August 1989. Also in danger were ten million migratory shore birds and waterfowl, hundreds of sea otters, dozens of other species, such as harbor porpoises and sea lions, and several varieties of whales. Current restoration activities are focused on: Long-term monitoring of marine conditions and restoration effectiveness is ongoing. The Exxon Valdez, by contrast, was never intended to do more than cart crude oil from Valdez, Alaska, to Long Beach in California. On March 24, 1989, shortly after midnight, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling more than 11 million gallons of crude oil. ToxicsWatch Alliance invoked the Basel Convention, which restricts the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes for disposal. In 1993, Exxon spun off its shipping arm to a subsidiary, Sea River Maritime, Inc., and the Exxon Mediterranean became the Sea River Mediterranean. Thick oil and heavy kelp tended to clog the equipment. At 11:53 pm, Hazelwood gave control of the ship to the Third Mate, Gregory Cousins, who tried to steer back to the original course. Exxon Valdez laid to rest The Oriental Nicety (née Exxon Valdez ), born in 1986 in San Diego, California, has died after a long struggle with bad publicity. In the end, only the last charge stuck and he had to do community service and pay a $50,000 fine. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. The Exxon Valdez oil spill, which occurred shortly after midnight on March 24th, 1989, was one of the worst man-made disasters in the United States, in which millions of gallons of crude oil entered the pristine waters of Prince William Sound after the Exxon Valdez oil tanker, captained by Joseph Hazelwood, crashed into Bligh Reef. In the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez incident, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which required the Coast Guard to strengthen its regulations on oil tank vessels and oil tank owners and operators. With this banishment institutionalized in U.S. law, Exxon Shipping Company shifted the operational area for the ship to the Mediterranean and the Middle East and renamed it accordingly. The Dong Fang Ocean moved to the port of Longyan with assistance by tugs. All Rights Reserved. Article by Gary Shigenaka, NOAA. This impacted 1,300 miles of coastline as well as the waters of Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska. Our award-winning show features highlights from the week's edition of Nature, interviews with the people behind the science, and in-depth commentary and analysis from journalists around the world. With this banishment institutionalized in U.S. law, Exxon Shipping Company shifted the operational area for the ship to the Mediterranean and the Middle East and renamed it accordingly. Services. All Rights Reserved. With this last misfortune, the final countdown to oblivion began in earnest for the vessel-formerly-known-as-Exxon-Valdez. It contaminated 1,300 miles of coastline with 250,000 barrels or 11 million gallons of oil. Gary Shigenaka is one of the original biological support specialists in the Emergency Response Division of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration. In November 2002, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Oil Pollution Act and its vessel prohibition provision (the Justice Department noting that to that time, 18 vessels had been prevented from entering Prince William Sound). In 1986, the National Steel and Shipbuilding company yard in San Diego, California, launched two ships with very different destinies. Join the 62,033 smart Maritime Professionals who receive our daily newsletter. Your email address will not be published. Many tankers had previously traversed Prince William Sound, avoiding Bligh Reef. How could this happen? Her luck had not changed. On March 24, 1989 the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of oil. The size of the spill and its remote location, accessible only by helicopter and boat, made government and industry efforts difficult and tested existing plans for dealing with such an event. The tanker was loaded with roughly 54 million gallons oil of which 10.8 m… A complete ban on single-hulled tankers was to be phased in on an accelerated schedule in 2005 and 2010. With this last misfortune, the final countdown to oblivion began in earnest for the vessel-formerly-known-as-Exxon-Valdez. Repairs to damaged skimmers were time consuming. Shortly after the spill, mechanical cleanup was started using booms and skimmers. So what happened? When the Exxon Valdez ran aground, it illustrated that: a. it is easy to steer an oil tanker b. a combination of factors can cause a massive spill c. supervision in of oil tankers is adequate d. the oil industry is prepared for a massive spill e. the U.S. a. In 1993, Exxon spun off its shipping arm to a subsidiary, Sea River Maritime, Inc., and the Exxon Mediterranean became the Sea River Mediterranean. Anyone can earn On March 24, 1989, shortly after midnight, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling more than 11 million gallons of crude oil. Because there was not enough wave action to mix the dispersant with the oil in the water, the Coast Guard representatives at the site concluded that the dispersants were not working and so their use was discontinued. Shanta Barley, writing for Nature, penned a wry obituary as a lead-in to her article about the last days of the ship: “The Oriental Nicety (née Exxon Valdez), born in 1986 in San Diego, California, has died after a long struggle with bad publicity.”. The Valdez convalesced in San Diego while her sister, the USNS Mercy, tended to wounded soldiers in the Persian Gulf. After the Big Spill, What Happened to the Ship Exxon Valdez? © copyright 2003-2020 Study.com. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, March 24, 1989, when Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company, bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef, 1.5 mi (2.4 km) west of Tatitlek, Alaska, at 12:04 a.m. and spilled 10.8 million US gallons (260,000 bbl) (or 37,000 metric tonnes) of crude oilover the next few days. Both environment and millions of birds and animals were almost destroyed by the oil spill. The fire did not endanger the main slick or the Exxon Valdez because of the distance separating them. 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