Bligh Reef Bligh Reef Bligh Reef, sometimes known as Bligh Island Reef, is a reef off the coast of Bligh Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska. This was the location of the 1989 "Exxon Valdez" oil spill. After the incident, US Code 33 § 2733 mandated the operation of an automated navigation light to prevent future collisions with the reef. Despite these efforts the tug "Pathfinder" ran aground on Bligh Reef on Dec 24, 2009, rupturing its tanks and spilling diesel fuel. Bligh Reef is also where Alaska Steamship Company's Olympia ran aground in 1910. Bligh Reef serves as a fishing ground
History of the oil tanker the newly discovered oil fields in Texas — such as Spindletop — and Oklahoma, which gave opportunities for new oil companies as Gulf Oil and Texas Fuel Company, later Texaco. Avoiding the use of Standard Oil's pipe line system, they started using tankers to get their oil to the East Coast. In combination with the oil fields discovered in Mexico and Venezuela, this caused a rise in the demand for tankers, which gave opportunities for the first independents, such as the Norwegian Wilh. Wilhelmsen, that launched its first tanker in 1913. The fleet oiler , launched on April 17, 1915,