It was early morning March 24, 1989, an oil tanker the Exxon Valdez was en route from the Valdez oil terminal through Prince William Sound. The captain, Joseph Hazelwood radioed in to say he was changing course. He did this in order to avoid small icebergs. He received permission to move to the northbound lane.
Now the Captain had been prior known to have had a drinking problem. He told his third mate Gregory Cousins, to begin steering, while he retired to his cabin. Mr. Cousins was not qualified to steer the ship in those Alaskan waters, and when he hit the Bligh reef; it was because the ship did not turn sharply enough. The reason that it did not turn sharply enough is not exactly known. There are suggestions that Cousins gave the order to late, or it could be because the Alyeska Corporation decided to keep their costs down by not upgrading the radar system on the ship.
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