Exxon Valdez Exxon Valdez Oriental Nicety, formerly Exxon Valdez, Exxon Mediterranean, SeaRiver Mediterranean, S/R Mediterranean, Mediterranean, and Dong Fang Ocean, was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound spilling hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil in Alaska. On March 24, 1989, while owned by the former Exxon Shipping Company, and captained by Joseph Hazelwood and First Mate James Kunkel bound for Long Beach, California, the vessel ran aground on the Bligh Reef resulting in the second largest oil spill in United States history. The size of the spill is estimated to have been ,
Oil tanker tonnage. The world's total oil tankers deadweight tonnage has increased from in 1970 to in 2005. The combined deadweight tonnage of oil tankers and bulk carriers, represents 72.9% of the world's fleet. In 2005, 2.42 billion metric tons of oil were shipped by tanker. 76.7% of this was crude oil, and the rest consisted of refined petroleum products. This amounted to 34.1% of all seaborne trade for the year. Combining the amount carried with the distance it was carried, oil tankers moved 11,705 billion metric-ton-miles of oil in 2005. By comparison, in 1970 1.44 billion metric tons of oil were