JAKARTA - The blue sea turned dark black after the oil tanker Exxon Valdez vomited its "stomach" after hitting a coral reef in the waters of Prince William Sound, southern Alaska. 42 million liters of crude oil spilled and polluted the 1,990 kilometers long coastline. The incident immediately became a catastrophe that killed millions of living things.
"My eyes were watering from the oil smoke even though I was 1,000 feet high," Rick Steiner, a Marine Advisor from the University of Alaska, recalled to National Geographic. Steiner witnessed firsthand what happened today, 31 years ago, March 4, 1989.
"Oil was splattered all over the deck of the ship and was seen spilling everywhere in the seawater," said Steiner who was inspecting one of the largest oil leak events in the history of the United States (US).
The spill of eleven million gallons of crude oil caused a big disaster for the sustainability of the surrounding environmental ecosystem. Hundreds of thousands of animals living in the affected habitats died. According to Scientific American records, as a result of this incident, about two thousand sea otters, 302 seals, and 250 thousand seabirds died within a few days of the incident.
In fact, the report also wrote an analysis of a number of researchers, that the impact of environmental pollution will be felt up to 30 years later. Charles H. Peterson, the University of North Carolina researcher who led the study, described the development in 2003, that "... oil has been sustained in enormous quantities for years after the events of 1989."
According to Peterson, exposure to this oil, in turn, can lead to more animal deaths. Salmon, for example, where the eggs have an increased mortality rate because the incubated eggs come into contact with the oil spill.
In addition, marine mammals and ducks will also be affected by the oil spill, because their prey is also contaminated with the spill. The writings of Peterson and his friends are not mere figments. A National Geographic report on March 22, 2019 revealed the death of billions of salmon and mammal eggs. Killer whales, for example, have registered 22 deaths.
Cause
Quoting History.com, recently, it was revealed that the cause of the ship shaking to hit a coral reef was because the Captain of the Ship Joseph Hazelwood was drunk. Although all drunk people tend to be stupid, what Joseph did was clearly beyond tolerance. Crazy, Joseph allowed an unauthorized officer to direct the large ship.
In March 1990, Joseph was convicted of negligence. He was fined 50 thousand US dollars and ordered to perform community service for one thousand hours. Meanwhile, in early 1991, Exxon, the oil carrier, came under fire from the National Transportation Safety Board.
At the same time, under pressure from environmental groups, Exxon agreed to their demands to pay a fine of US $ 1 billion over ten years in cleaning costs.
However, Exxon suddenly rejected the agreement. Then, in October 1991 the oil giant solved its problem by paying a mere 25 million US dollars. Far from what was agreed at the beginning of the agreement.
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