The Roots and Backwash of Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Research Paper

The Roots and Backwash of Exxon Valdez Oil Spill - Research Paper Example The Exxon Valdez supertanker was traveling outside normal shipping lanes as it was avoiding ice and after 6 hours of grounding, the ship damaged 8 of its 11 tankers and spilled a portion of its Prudhoe Bay oil cargo (Cutler, 2008).   Massive cleanup efforts by Exxon and the US Coast Guard were immediately started.   Thousands of Alaskan residents helped in the cleanup efforts and eventually after about three years, the US Coast Guard declared the clean-up complete (Exxon Mobil, n.d).   The cleanup started in April 1989 until September of 1989 for the first year and went on in 1990 and 1991 during the summer months and some shoreline monitoring in the winter months (Cutler, 2008).   Based on the assessment of the National Transportation Safety Board, there were 5 possible causes of the grounding: 1). The third mate failed to properly maneuver the vessel possibly because of fatigue and excess workload; 2). The master failed to give proper navigation watch probably because of al cohol intoxication; 3). Exxon Shipping Company did not supervise the master and provide rest for their crew; 4). The US Coast Guard did not provide an effective vessel traffic system, and 5). There were no sufficient pilot and escort services (Cutler, 2008).  Ã‚   The environmental and economic consequences of the disaster amount to more than just three years of cleanup; they amount to profits lost, damage to coasts, and other sea and bird life.   These consequences shall now be discussed in detail.   These economic consequences shall cover the ecological cost of the oil spill itself, the economic costs as shouldered by Exxon Company during the cleanup, and the penalties charged against the company for the disaster.  Ã‚  Ã‚   About 3700 to 5800 mammals from 9 different species were affected by the oil spill.   Three hundred direct mortalities were reported for seals while 2,800 mortalities were reported for otters and these deaths were mostly due to the breathing and ingestion of the toxic oil.