Exxon Valdez
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| Image:Exval.jpeg The Exxon Valdez aground, 1989 | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 29 July 1985 |
| Launched: | 14 October 1986 |
| Commissioned: | 11 December 1986 |
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 211,469 tons (214,862 metric tons) |
| Length: | 301 m (987 ft) |
| Beam: | 51 m (166 ft) |
| Draft: | 20 m (64.5 ft) |
| Speed: | 16.25 knots (30 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 1.48 million barrels (235,000 m³) of crude oil |
| Complement: | 21 crew |
Exxon Valdez was the original name (later Sea River Mediterranean and eventually Mediterranean) of an oil tanker owned by the former Exxon Corporation. It gained widespread infamy after the March 29 1989 oil spill in which the tanker, captained by Joseph Hazelwood, hit Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled an estimated 11 million gallons of crude oil. This has been recorded as one of the largest spills in U.S. history and one of the largest ecological disasters.
The vessel had an all steel construction, built by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego. A relatively new tanker at the time of the spill, it was delivered to Exxon in December 1986. The tanker was 300 m long, 50 m wide, and 27 m in depth (987 ft by 166 ft by 88 ft), weighing 30,000 tons empty and powered by a 31,650 shp (23.60 MW) diesel engine. The ship could transport a maximum of 1.48 million barrels (200,000 t) at a sustained speed of 16.25 knots (30 km/h) and was employed to transport crude oil from the Alyeska consortium's pipeline terminal in Valdez, Alaska, to the lower 48 states of the United States. The vessel was carrying about 1.26 million barrels, or about 53 million gallons, when it struck the reef.
After the spill, the Exxon Valdez was towed to San Diego, arriving on July 10 and repairs began onboard on June 30, 1989. Approximately 1,600 tons of steel were removed and replaced in the month of July 1989, totaling $30 million of repairs to the tanker.
After being repaired, the Valdez was renamed the "Sea River Mediterranean," later shortened to "S/R Mediterranean," then to simply "Mediterranean" and sailed under the Marshall Island flag. Although Exxon tried to return the ship to its Alaskan fleet, it was prohibited by law from entering Prince William Sound.
[edit] Exxon Valdez in popular culture
- In the last scenes of the movie Waterworld when Kevin Costner sinks the pirate's large ship, just before it disappears, you can see on the stern of the ship its moniker, 'Exxon Valdez'. Also the inhabitors of this ship in the movie (called the smokers) worship a man called St Joe after the ship's captain.
- Australian rock band Midnight Oil staged a Manhattan concert in front of Exxon headquarters with Greenpeace.
- One of the levels in the game Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition happens in the Valdez tanker.
[edit] See also
cs:Exxon Valdez de:Exxon Valdez es:Exxon Valdez eo:Exxon Waldez fr:Exxon Valdez ko:엑손 발데즈 it:Exxon Valdez he:אקסון ואלדז nl:Exxon Valdez ja:エクソン・ヴァルディーズ pl:MT Exxon Valdez pt:Exxon Valdez sk:Exxon Valdez fi:Exxon Valdezin öljyonnettomuus sv:Exxon Valdez tr:Exxon Valdez kazası uk:Ексон Вальдез
