CASE 7.16
Exxon and Alaska

At This chapter tells about case Exxon which is not only once even twice that is: first, when the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, south of Valdez, Alaska, and spilled nearly 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. The captain of the tanker was Joseph Hazelwood.
Why its happened? when Captain Hazelwood prudently took the vessel east of the shipping lanes to avoid a heavy concentration of ice in the shipping lane, which is a serious hazard. Paintiffs have not claimed that Captain Hazelwood violated any law or regulation by travelling outside the sea lane. The problem with being outside the sea lane was that ship’s course was directly toward Bligh Reef. And Before leaving he added to the complexity of the maneuver that needed to be made: he put the vesselon outopilot, which is not usually done when a vessel is out of the shipping lanes, and the autopilot program sped the vessel up, making it approach the reef faster and reducing the time during which error could be correct. Simply Hazelwood had a history of drinking problems. The jury could have concluded from the evidence before them that leaving the bridge was an extradionary lapse of judgment caused by Captain Hazelwood’s intoxication. Almost a week after the Princes William Sound accident, Exxon revealed yhat Hazelwood’s blood-alcohol reading was 0.061 in a test taken ten and one-half hours after the spill occurred-a level that would indicated intoxication. Exxon also announced it had fired Hazelwood.
A Second, Exxon oil spill occurred when a pipeline under the Arthur kill waterway between Staten Island and New Jersey burst and spilled 567,000 gallons of heating oil. Why can be like that? I think cause Exxon has a corporate philosophy that the environtment is some kind of nuisance problem and a distraction from the real business of moving oil around.
Exxon was indicted on federal felony charges of violating maritime safety and antipollution laws in the Valdez spill. The charges were brought after Exxon and the Justice Department failed to reach a settlement. The oil company also faced state criminal charges. Alaska and the Justice Department also brought civil suits against Exxon for the cost of cleaning up the spill.
And finally, the State of Alaska and the Justice Department , relying on the loophole, demanded an additional $92 million damages. The amount is needed, according to the exercise of the clause in the agreement, because of oil still present along the beaches.