Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster is a 1992 movie depicting the "Exxon Valdez" oil spill disaster off the coast of Alaska. Directed by Paul Seed, it stars Christopher Lloyd, John Heard, Rip Torn and Michael Murphy. Most of the film was shot in Vancouver, Richmond and Steveston, British Columbia, but it also utilizes archival film clips of the actual disaster and cleanup efforts. On March 24, 1989, the "Exxon Valdez" oil tanker struck a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. It was the worst oil spill of its time, releasing over of crude
Exxon Valdez oil spill official position was that punitive damages greater than $25 million were not justified because the spill resulted from an accident, and because Exxon spent an estimated $2 billion cleaning up the spill and a further $1 billion to settle related civil and criminal charges. Attorneys for the plaintiffs contended that Exxon bore responsibility for the accident because the company "put a drunk in charge of a tanker in Prince William Sound." Exxon recovered a significant portion of clean-up and legal expenses through insurance claims associated with the grounding of the "Exxon Valdez". Also, in 1991, Exxon made a quiet, separate