Captain Joseph Hazelwood, former captain of the Exxon Valdez, has died

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Captain Joseph Jeffrey Hazelwood, the captain of the Exxon Valdez when it ran aground in Alaska in 1989, has died, gCaptain has confirmed. He was 75 years old.

The Exxon Valdez was carrying more than 1.2 barrels of oil when it ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, near Valdez, Alaska on March 24, 1989. An estimated 11 million barrels were spilled by the ship’s ruptured tanks, affecting more than a thousand miles. shoreline and having catastrophic effects on fish and wildlife.

The oil spill, one of the worst in US history, eventually led Congress to enact the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA).

Captain Hazelwood was acquitted at trial of felony charges relating to the accident, including driving a ship while intoxicated. He was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of negligently spilling oil and fined $50,000 and 1,000 hours of community service. His Master Mariners license issued by the Coast Guard was suspended for a brief period but was never revoked. However, he never resumed sailing after the accident.

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation determined the probable cause of the grounding was the fact that the third officer did not maneuver the vessel correctly due to fatigue and excessive workload and that the master did not maintain an adequate navigational watch in due to alcoholism. Exxon Shipping Company, a subsidiary of Exxon Corporation, also failed to provide a fit captain and a rested and sufficient crew. The NTSB also found a lack of effective vessel traffic and pilotage services.

In 1991, a U.S. District Court in Anchorage accepted guilty pleas from Exxon Corporation and Exxon Shipping Company, including a criminal fine of $150 million, the largest fine ever imposed at the time for an environmental crime, of which $125 million was remitted acknowledgment of Exxon’s cooperation in the cleanup and payment of certain private claims. Exxon also agreed to a $100 million criminal restitution and a $900 million civil settlement.

Captain Hazelwood, a 1968 graduate of SUNY Maritime College, was born September 24, 1946. A source close to his family confirms that Hazelwood died peacefully Thursday on Long Island. No further details were available.

Captain Hazelwood recalled the 2014 accident in a story for CNN:

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