Joseph Hazelwood was the captain of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker that ran aground more than three decades ago in Alaska, causing one of the worst oil spills in U.S. history. He died this summer at age 75 after struggling with COVID-19 and cancer.
Former Exxon Valdez Capt. Joseph Hazelwood is surrounded by reporters as he leaves his re-licensing hearing in Long Beach, Calif., on July 25, 1990. Hazelwood, the captain of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker that ran aground more than three decades ago in Alaska, causing one of the worst oil spills in U.S. history, has died in July 2022, the New York Times reported. He was 75.
The Exxon Valdez, a 987-foot tanker, grounded on Alaska’s Bligh Reef at 12:04 a.m. on March 24, 1989, spewing nearly 11 million gallons of oil into the rich fishing waters of Prince William Sound. Currents and storms carried the crude over 1,200 miles of Alaska coastline. The grounding, along with other oil spills in 1989 and 1990, prompted passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which strengthened how the U.S. government responds to oil spills. Exxon Valdez was surpassed as the nation’s worst oil spill when Deepwater Horizon exploded in 2010, releasing 168 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Hazelwood, whom prosecutors accused of being drunk when the tanker grounded, was the only crew member criminally charged after the spill. He had left a third mate in control of the ship while he went below to do paperwork. Hazelwood was accused of one felony, criminal mischief, and three misdemeanors — reckless endangerment, operating a vessel while intoxicated and negligent discharge of oil.
The jury ultimately found Hazelwood guilty of negligent discharge of oil into state waters and acquitted him of the other charges. He was sentenced to spend 1,000 hours in community service and ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution. “As master of the vessel, I accept responsibility for the vessel and the actions of my subordinates,” he told the newspaper. “I’ve never tried to avoid that. I’m not some remorseless oaf.”
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