Exxon Valdez

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Exxon Valdez

Exxon Valdez was the original name (later Sea River Mediterranean and eventually Mediterranean) of an oil

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
tanker

Tanker (ship)

A tank ship or tankship, often referred to as a tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in Bulk liquids. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier....
owned by the former Exxon

ExxonMobil

The Exxon Mobil Corporation, or ExxonMobil, is an United States petroleum and natural gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D....
Shipping Company, a division of the former Exxon Corporation. It gained widespread infamy after the March 24 1989 oil spill

Exxon Valdez oil spill

The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989 . It is considered one of the most devastating man-made environmental disasters ever to occur at sea....
in which the tanker, captained by Joseph Hazelwood

Joseph Hazelwood

Joseph Jeffrey Hazelwood is an American sailor. He was the Captain of the Exxon Valdez during its Exxon Valdez oil spill. He was accused of being drunk at the time of the accident, though at trial he was cleared of this charge....
and bound for Long Beach

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a large city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific Ocean coast. It is situated in Los Angeles County, about south of downtown Los Angeles....
, California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, hit Prince William Sound

Prince William Sound

Prince William Sound is a Sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula....
's Bligh Reef

Bligh Reef

Bligh Reef, sometimes known as Bligh Island Reef, is a reef off the coast of Bligh Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska. This was the location of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill....
and spilled an estimated minimum 10.8 million US gallons (40.9 million liters) of crude oil, with 35 million gallons possible.

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Encyclopedia

Exxon Valdez was the original name (later Sea River Mediterranean and eventually Mediterranean) of an oil

Petroleum

Tanker (ship)

ExxonMobil

Exxon Valdez oil spill

Joseph Hazelwood

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a large city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific Ocean coast. It is situated in Los Angeles County, about south of downtown Los Angeles....
, California

California

Prince William Sound

Prince William Sound is a Sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula....
's Bligh Reef

Bligh Reef

Ship

A ship is a large watercraft that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the ferry or cargo ships, fishing, cruise ship, Coast guard, and warship....
was built by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, or simply NASSCO, is a shipyard in San Diego, California, and a division of General Dynamics. The yard specializes in constructing commercial cargo ships and auxiliary vessels for the US Navy and Military Sealift Command, which it has been producing since 1959....
in San Diego. A relatively new tanker at the time of the spill, it was delivered to Exxon in December 1986. The tanker is 300 m long, 50 m wide, and 27 m in depth (987 ft by 166 ft by 88 ft), weighing 30,000 tons empty and powered by a 31,650 shp (23.60 MW) diesel engine

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine which operates using the diesel cycle . Diesel engines have the highest thermal efficiency compared to any internal combustion or external combustion engine....
. The ship can transport a maximum of 1.48 million barrel

Barrel (unit)

The barrel is the name of several units of measurement of volume, generally in the range of about 100-200 L ....
s (200,000 t) at a sustained speed of 16.25 knots (30 km/h). Its hull design is of the single-hull

Oil tanker

An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker....
type.

At the time of the spill it was employed to transport crude oil from the Alyeska consortium's pipeline terminal in Valdez, Alaska

Valdez, Alaska

Valdez is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,020....
, to the lower 48 states of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. The vessel was carrying about 1.26 million barrels, or about 53 million US gallons (200 million liters), of oil at the time it ran aground. After the spill, the Exxon Valdez was towed to San Diego

San Diego, California

San Diego is the second largest city in California and the List of United States cities by population, located along the Pacific Ocean on the West Coast of the United States of the Western United States....
, arriving on June 10, 1989, and repairs began on June 30, 1989. Approximately 1,600 tons of steel were removed and replaced that July, totaling $30 million of repairs to the tanker. Its single-hull

Oil tanker

An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker....
design remained unaltered.

After being repaired, the Valdez was renamed the Sea River Mediterranean, later shortened to S/R Mediterranean, then to simply Mediterranean. Although Exxon tried briefly to return the ship to its North American fleet, it was prohibited by law from returning to Prince William Sound. It then served in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In 2002, the ship was again removed from service. Exxon-Mobil proceeded to sell it to a SeaRiver Maritime International Inc., a Houston-based shipping concern. In 2005, it began operating under the Marshall Islands flag of convenience

Flag of convenience

A flag of convenience vessel or ship is one where the nationality of the owner is different from the country of registration. The term has been used since the 1950s and comes from the flag ships fly to show their country of registration....
Since then, European Union regulations have also prevented vessels with single-hull designs such as the Valdez from entering European ports. It is currently in service in East Asia.

On August 27, 2008, Exxon Mobil agreed to pay 75% of the $507.5 million damages ruling to settle the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska.

A ship bearing the name Exxon Valdez makes an appearance in the 1995 film Waterworld

Waterworld

Waterworld is a 1995 in film Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction science fiction film. The film was directed by Kevin Reynolds and stars Kevin Costner, who also Film producer it, was written by David Twohy and was distributed by Universal Pictures....
, as the "Smokers'" oil carrying vessel.