On March 24th 1989, shortly after midnight, the supertanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, a pristine area immensely rich in marine life. A significant part of the crude oil carried by the tanker spills into the sea. The black wave. Most of that oil will never be recovered. Almost instantly, dramatic images of the accident crisscross the planet. Agonizing birds flap their wings, covered in oil. Dazed sea lions take refuge on a marine buoy. Seals gasp on a rocky beach. An enormous, gooey black wave rolls forward and swallows 2000 kilometers of wild beaches that have not been disturbed since the dawn of time. The media find a culprit. It is Captain Joe Hazelwood, whose blood alcohol content shows he is seriously intoxicated. But Hazelwood is a scapegoat who obscures the fact that the accident was preventable. Exxon and its sister oil companies in Alaska have a long history of breaking safety promises. By March 1989, Riki Ott and many fishers in Prince William Sound believe there is a major supertanker accident waiting to happen. When it happens, Exxon launches a spectacular cleanup operation paired with an unprecedented public relations campaign. Exxon comes off as a responsible corporate citizen doing its best to repair the damage caused by one irresponsible individual Captain Hazelwood. Only when journalists go home do the consequences gradually surface. An important part of the oil has been blasted, with pressurized hot water, under the surface sands …
