Bill Allen (businessman) Barbados as well. VECO also was a worldwide player in the oil industry, having divisions in many major oil markets, including the Sudan, Russia, Mexico, Venezuela and Syria. VECO had a major impact on the economy of Alaska and employed over 5,000 people worldwide. On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling eleven million gallons of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the second largest in United States history, after the BP Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon spill. Under Allen's guidance, VECO (along with
History of the oil tanker first time when the US Coast Guard took on the salvage of the "Argo Merchant", although the vessel was in international waters. This was the first time the monopoly of flag states was broken through. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the incentive to introduce legislation requiring tankers to have a double hull, a measure that is not seen as the best solution by all experts. Where a double hull should minimize the consequences after a disaster, Concordia Maritime developed the "Stena V-MAX", a VLCC with two propellers, two rudders and two redundant engine rooms, where a single fault does