EXXON VALDEZ REVISITED IN GULF OF MEXICO – SAFETY ERRORS – 2 THE PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE IN A POSITION TO KNOW ARE NEVER CONSULTED – NEVER ASKED! JUST MAXIMUM PROFITS – WHO SEEMS TO CARE ABOUT SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS? TORREY CANYON – March 1967 – 120000 TONS OF OIL – UK [SHIP FLAGGED UNDER “FLAG OF CONVENIENCE” TO AVOID BASIC SAFETY COSTS] – 120000 TONS OF OIL POLLUTED THE SOUTH WESTERN APPROACHES OF THE UK – SHIP OWNED BY BP… – EXXON VALDEZ – 210000 TONS – Alaska, US – March 1989 Exxon Valdez left the Valdez oil terminal in Alaska at 9:13 pm on March 23, 1989, bound for Long Beach, California. The ship was under the control of Captain Joseph Jeffrey HAZELWOOD. The outbound shipping lane was obstructed with icebergs, so Hazelwood got permission from the Coast Guard to go out through the inbound lane. Following the manoeuvre and sometime after 11 pm, Hazelwood left Third Officer Gregory COUSINS in charge of the wheel house and Able Seaman Robert Kagan at the helm. NEITHER MAN had been given his mandatory six hours off duty before beginning his 12 (twelve) hour watch. [SAFETY COMPROMISED] The ship was on autopilot, using the navigation system installed by the company that constructed the ship. The ship struck Bligh Reef at around 12:04 am March 24, 1989. – EXXON Shipping Company failed to repair the Raycas sonar system, which would have indicated to the THIRD OFFICER an impending collision with the Bligh reef. – The THIRD OFFICER failed to properly manoeuvre the vessel due to …
