Cordova, Alaska Cordova, Alaska Cordova () is a small town located near the mouth of the Copper River in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska, United States, at the head of Orca Inlet on the east side of Prince William Sound. The population was 2,239 at the 2010 census, down from 2,454 in 2000. Cordova was named "Puerto Cordova" by Spanish explorer Salvador Fidalgo in 1790. No roads connect Cordova to other Alaskan towns, so a plane or ferry is required to travel there. In the Exxon Valdez oil spill of March 1989, an oil tanker ran aground northwest of Cordova, heavily damaging
Architecture of the oil tanker a mid-deck design overcomes this by eliminating the double-bottom compartments that are void with air. Since the density of seawater is greater than that of oil, water comes into the tanks instead of oil escaping out, and rather than spilling, oil is vented upwards into overflow tanks. If the "Exxon Valdez" had been a Mid-Deck ship, she would have spilled very little oil. A variation on the Mid-Deck Tanker is the Coulombi Egg Tanker, which was approved by IMO as an alternative to the double hull concept. The design consists of a series of centre and wing tanks that are