Exxon Valdez
Oil from the spill and the report to the president
On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez hit Bligh Reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound and spilled more than 11 million gallons of crude oil.
It is generally frowned upon to drink while in control of millions of gallons of oil, but "the master told the Coast Guard investigating officer that he had had a beer at lunch".
The NTSB blamed the grounding on a fatigued third mate, an alcohol-impaired captain, weak Coast Guard traffic monitoring, and Exxon's failure to provide a fit master and a rested crew.
The deeper failure was the lack of disaster preparedness. Ships hit things. Weather turns. Exxon had no real plan to get skimmers and wildlife response teams to the spill before the damage spiraled out of control.
