Exxon Valdez spilled 11M gallons of oil — and Exxon had no plan to clean it up

On 24 March 1989, the Exxon Valdez, a supertanker carrying 53 million gallons of crude oil, struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The grounding punctured eight of eleven cargo holds, spilling 10.8 million gallons of oil into the pristine waters. It was the largest oil spill in US history at the time. Captain Joseph Hazelwood was not on the bridge — he was below decks in his cabin. He had been drinking in a Valdez bar before departure.

The response was a catastrophe. Neither Exxon, the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, the State of Alaska, nor the federal government was prepared for a spill of this magnitude. Mechanical cleanup equipment was not available during the first 24 hours. A helicopter spraying chemical dispersant missed the target. The EPA had warned the Coast Guard in 1984 that the port was not prepared for a major spill. The warning was ignored.

The environmental toll was devastating: 100,000 to 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, and 247 bald eagles died. Exxon spent $2 billion on cleanup and another $1 billion on settlements. A jury initially awarded $5 billion in punitive damages; after 19 years of litigation, the Supreme Court reduced it to $507.5 million. Exxon paid in full in 2009. The spill led to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, requiring double-hulled tankers and spill response plans.