Captain Should Have Been Piloting Tanker, Exxon Reveals; Disaster Declared
The tanker that caused the nation's biggest oil spill was being illegally piloted by its third mate when the vessel ran aground on a reef, Exxon Shipping Co. said Sunday. Alaska's governor, meanwhile, declared once-pristine Prince William Sound a disaster area as the toll on the waterway's abundant wildlife began to mount. The Coast Guard said the slick and patches of oil separated from it were spread over an area of about 100 square miles. Exxon Shipping spokesman Brian Dunphy told The Associated Press that the captain of the tanker Exxon Valdez, Joseph Hazelwood, was not on the bridge at the time of the accident and that third mate Gregory Cousins was in command. ``It's Exxon's policy that in the waters that the ship was located in, the captain should have been on the bridge,'' Dunphy said. ``There's a problem there in that he was not there. It's our policy he should have been there.'' An Exxon spokeswoman, Sharon Curran-Wescott, said she believed Cousin's actions violated federal regulations. ``He didn't have a proper pilot's license for that. He wasn't authorized by the company, nor was it legal,'' she said. Dunphy said he did not know why Hazelwood was not on the bridge. ``I am unaware of any explanation he has made at this time. ... There is a full investigation that will occur on the incident,'' Dunphy said, adding that the captain is consulting with an attorney. As clean-up efforts continued Sunday, fishermen fearing lost income sought compensation Sunday. Exxon Shipping Co. held a meeting Sunday between fishermen and a company claims officer. ``We're not ready to absorb any loss,'' said Riki Ott, spokeswoman for United Fishermen of Alaska. ``We expect full compensation.'' Ten supertankers remained anchored 33 miles from Valdez, unable to move toward shore because the harbor remains closed. The Coast Guard said it ordered the closure to prevent pollution from being carried to Valdez on vessels passing through the oil. Department of Interior spokeswoman Pamela Bergmann said a wildlife specialist sailed in the sound Saturday and observed 75 ducks and two otters coated with oil. They could not be captured for cleaning, she said. Gov. Steve Cowper declared Prince William Sound a disaster area, freeing state resources for cleanup and paving the way for a federal disaster declaration. ``This oil spill may well be the greatest disaster to hit Alaska since the Good Friday earthquake 25 years ago,'' Cowper said in a news release. ``It requires the most thorough response we can muster and this disaster declaration is an important part of that response. We'll be requesting President Bush to make a similar declaration.'' The 987-foot tanker Exxon Valdez, carrying 1.2 million barrels of North Slope crude oil loaded at Valdez, ran onto a reef 25 miles from the port early Friday after swinging out of a traffic lane to avoid ice. Valdez is at the southern end of the 800-mile Alaska oil pipeline. Estimates put the spill at 240,000 barrels of oil, or about 10.1 million gallons, making it the biggest U.S. spill on record. The only larger oil-related accident in U.S. waters was the spilling and burning of up to 10.7 million gallons of oil when two ships collided in Galveston Bay in 1979. More than four miles of floating boom had been placed in an effort to contain the oil, the Coast Guard said Sunday. An additional 3,000 feet was to be deployed at Galena Bay at the request of fishermen. Skimming boats worked to remove the oil. The Coast Guard estimated the area affected by the spill at 100 square miles. However, Exxon insisted that the area was only 10 to 12 square miles, and Coast Guard officials said they were at a loss to explain the difference in estimates. The transfer of oil remaining aboard the Exxon Valdez to the Exxon Baton Rouge resumed late Saturday. The Coast Guard said about 84,000 gallons of oil an hour was being transferred; at that rate, the unloading could take seven days. By late Sunday, Exxon officials said a total of 37,500 barrels of oil had been transferred in the first two days of the operation, leaving more than 900,000 barrels on the ship. Tests were under way to determine if dispersal chemicals should be used despite the potential for environmental damage. The agents need wave action to help break up the thick crude oil. Weather had been calm since the accident, but the National Weather Service said the wind was expected to increase to 25 mph and stir up a 5- to 6-foot chop on the sound. However, the wind and waves may make it more difficult to skim oil off the water, said Coast Guard Lt. Ed Wieliczkiewicz. An experiment to assess the possibility of burning off the oil was completed early Sunday and the Coast Guard said Exxon officials were ``cautiously optimistic.'' Environmentalists, the governor and other top state officials have accused Exxon and Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. of responding too slowly to the spill. Alyeska operates the terminal at Valdez that loads tankers with North Slope crude. Both companies said they were satisfied with the handling of the problem. ``We're proceeding cautiously,'' said Exxon spokesman Tom Cirigliano. ``We want to make sure we don't make any mistakes in cleaning up the spill.'' Exxon Shipping Co. President Frank Iarossi said Exxon has reviewed information gathered by divers and determined there are five holes in the vessel's hull on the starboard side. The largest is 20-by-6 feet. All six tanks along the port side remain intact. Four are oil tanks; two are ballast tanks. Investigation of the accident was turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board on Sunday. The ship's captain and two bridge crew members, including Cousins, were relieved of duty Saturday and subpoenaed by the NTSB. Iarossi said relieving the three was intended to allow them rest and was not a disciplinary measure. Hazelwood was in his cabin at the time of the accident, Iarossi said. The third member of the bridge crew was identified as helmsman Robert Kagan. The three were administered routine tests for drug and alcohol abuse, but the results were not immediately available, officials said. The spill came at a time when Prince William Sound fishermen were preparing for the herring season, which is followed by harvests of shellfish and salmon. Many are concerned they will get only minimal harvests because of the oil damage, and then will face the longer-term problem of bad publicity. ``This could ruin our reputation in Asian markets for years to come,'' said Jim Brown, a netter. The herring catch, which usually takes place in April, primarily is for the harvest of roe, a delicacy that brings up to $25 per pound in Japan. ``It's possible they could avoid the oil,'' Brown said. ``Fish are not stupid. But they can't avoid the chemicals.'' Rick Steiner of the University of Alaska Marine Advisory Program said the beaches on which the herring spawn could be polluted. Fishermen said they have had two good years back to back, and some were spurred by that success to go into debt for new equipment this year. Ott said fishing is an economic mainstay in Cordova, more so than in Valdez, which also draws tourists and has the oil terminal. ``Half of Cordova is operating on credit,'' Ott said.
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