Catastrophe at Sea
In the evening of March 23, 1989, a huge oil tanker called the Exxon Valdez left the dock at Port Valdez, Alaska. The tanker's final destination was Long Beach, California, where it was scheduled to deliver about 54 million gallons of oil. On the way the tanker would pass through Prince William Sound, a beautiful but dangerous body of water on the southern coast of Alaska.
Soon after the ship left the port, pilot William Murphy guided the vessel through the Valdez Narrows, a narrow waterway that led into the Sound. At around eleven o'clock, Captain Joseph Hazelwood relieved Murphy, increasing the speed of the ship and steering it out of the usual shipping lanes in order to avoid icebergs.
Just before midnight Hazelwood left Third Mate Gregory Cousins alone on the bridge of the ship, a clear violation of company rules. Cousins, who had already been working for more hours than was allowed, was now on his own and in charge of maneuvering the tanker back into the proper lane.
As Hazelwood had instructed, Cousins gave the order to turn the ship. But the heavy tanker didn't respond quickly enough. Instead it headed straight for Bligh Reef, a cluster of jagged, underwater rocks.
Cousins phoned Hazelwood in a panic. The two men were still on the phone seconds later when there was a series of violent jolts, and the tanker grounded on top of Bligh Reef. The sharp rocks sliced through the ship, ripping open its steel cargo holds. Thick, black oil began pouring into the Sound—nearly 11 million gallons of it.
The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill created a massive environmental crisis. The result of human error, the accident damaged one of the most beautiful and unspoiled wilderness environments in the world. By the time it was all over, 460 miles of ocean water and 1,300 miles of the Alaskan coastline were contaminated. Hundreds of thousands of animals were killed, and the lives of many were changed forever.
A Delicate Ecosystem
Prince William Sound was famous for its clear, pristine waters that teemed with wildlife—fish, otters, sea lions, porpoises, whales, and other marine creatures. Surrounding the sea inlet was a huge forest, with towering mountains that were home to grizzly bears, bald eagles, and many species that depended on the Sound for food. Humans living nearby were also dependent on the water, making their living from fishing salmon, herring, mussels, and clams.
When the Exxon Valdez grounded on Bligh Reef, the oil that spilled into the water damaged the area's delicate ecosystem. The oil poisoned animals that ingested it, and it coated their skin and feathers so they could no longer move or keep warm. Within the first few days of the spill, about 250,000 seabirds were found dead. It is believed that thousands of other animals—sea otters, harbor seals, killer whales, salmon, and herring—also died within the first days after the spill. The oil killed even the tiniest organisms, from algae growing on shoreline rocks to plankton living in the water.
Rescue and Recovery
Cleanup crews were immediately sent to Alaska to begin the process of restoring the water and land. But from the start, this was a difficult process. Workers first tried to burn off the oil—a common means of dealing with oil spills—but high winds and rain prevented them from making much progress. Because of the Sound's remote location, it took a long time for essential equipment to arrive. Chemicals were deposited in the water to help break up the oil, but there was not enough wave action to make this process successful.
For the first two days, the spill was contained around Bligh Reef. But when a storm arrived on March 26, high winds and strong waves pushed the oil further out to sea. Soon oil was washing up along the beaches too.
Cleaning the beaches created a new set of problems. One of the most effective methods was to use high-pressure, hot-water hoses. But scientists soon realized that the water had a terrible side effect: it was so hot that it cooked microorganisms, such as plankton, that were important for the ecosystem.
A newer cleanup method, bioremediation, involved using fertilizer to grow bacteria that consumed oil. But this technique was very new so it was used sparingly. And it was only effective in locations where the oil had not spread too thickly.
Meanwhile tens of thousands of volunteers were working around the clock to try to save the animals affected by the oil. This was difficult work too. First, the animals, who were frightened and sick, had to be caught. Then, they were brought to special facilities for the painstaking task of cleaning them one-by-one, using dish soap and toothbrushes. The animals were also given medicine to prevent the oil from damaging their internal organs. Volunteers had to work quickly so that the animals could be released back into the wild as soon as possible.
Four years later the massive cleanup operation around Prince William Sound was finally declared over. Cleanup crews left the area, but unfortunately a lot of the oil remained behind on the beaches and in the water.
After the Crisis
In 1991 the Exxon Corporation, the company that owned the Exxon Valdez, agreed to pay more than $1 billion to help people and the environment recover from the accident. Some of that money was put in a special fund to purchase land in the area so that it could be preserved for wildlife. Hazelwood, the captain of the tanker, was fired, and later he was fined and ordered to perform one thousand hours of community service.
Today Prince William Sound still bears scars from the spill. As of 2007 there were still over 25,000 gallons of oil contained in the shoreline sand. Some bird populations, such as pigeon guillemots, have shown little sign of recovery. The decrease in fish populations, especially herring, has created many financial difficulties for local fishermen.
However, there are also some small signs of hope. The crisis taught scientists and emergency workers important lessons about the best ways to clean up oil spills. The U.S government passed the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), which created strict regulations for oil tankers traveling around Alaska. It also made owners of tankers more directly responsible for cleaning up any accidents.
Perhaps the best news is that some of the animal species affected by the spill are recovering. Pink salmon, river otters, common loons, and bald eagles are considered recovered, and the number of killer whales and sea otters in Prince William Sound seems to be rising.
For some people the crisis has provided encouraging proof of nature's ability to heal itself. It appears that over time the natural movement of the waves has washed away more oil than any of the human methods.