The captain of the ship that caused one of the worst oil spills in history has died. That disaster sparked changes in how the U.S. dealt with spills.
FILE - 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 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.
During his 1990 Anchorage trial, witnesses reported he drank vodka at a Valdez bar before the ship sailed, but how much he drank and at what hour were in dispute. No witnesses described Hazelwood as appearing drunk, staggering or slurring his words. Crew members called him cool, calm and in command before and after the grounding, according to Associated Press coverage of the trial.
During his sentencing, then-Superior Court Judge Karl Johnstone said he was disappointed Hazelwood had not publicly apologized for his role in the disaster.In June 1999, Hazelwood, of Huntington, New York, spoke to the New York Times as he prepared to leave for Anchorage to complete his community service.
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