Lessons from History: The Exxon Valdez Disaster
On the 24th March, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker out from towards the Long Beach, California with the third mate at the helm. The captain had retired for the night after a drinking session with the crew, following the standard 12-14 hour shift. While entering the Prince William Sounds, Alaska, the third mate made the decision to steer outside the normal shipping lane after hearing reports of small icebergs in the area. Despite not being licenced to navigate outside the normal shipping lane, visibility was low at this time of night, iceberg monitoring equipment had been promised but not yet delivered. Although the RAYCAS radar system was broken (and had been for the last year) but the third mate thought the coastguard monitoring should provide added warnings of dangers (not knowing the coastguard no longer provided this service). At 12.03am the Exxon Valdez struck a reef, puncturing the hull, releasing 10.8 million gallons of crude oil into the environment. What followed became standard knowledge in crisis management on what not to do.
The media coverage, for the first time for such an event, provided back to back coverage of the disaster. Video of the extent of the oil slick, heart-breaking pictures of the suffering wildlife, covered in crude oil and interviews with distraught residents was being broadcast globally. Which was in stark contrast to the silence and apparent indifference from the corporation itself. The few comments made by the company spokesman turned out to be inaccurate. While the Chairman was quoted as saying he had no time for ‘that sort of thing’. After a week of building frustration and outrage with the company the chairman agreed to attend a news conference. During which the majority his comments were immediately disputed by eyewitnesses at the conference. And when asked about the clean-up, he stated that it’s not the job of the chairman to read such reports.