Exxon Valdez oil spill State of Alaska's "Exxon Valdez" Oil Spill Trustee Council, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Multiple factors have been identified as contributing to the incident: Captain Joseph Hazelwood, who was widely reported to have been drinking heavily that night, was not at the controls when the ship struck the reef. However, as the senior officer, he was in command of the ship even though he was asleep in his bunk. In light of the other findings, investigative reporter Greg Palast stated in 2008, "Forget the drunken skipper fable. As to
Mary A. Whalen (tanker) Co.", a pivotal 1975 Supreme Court decision in maritime law after she ran aground in Rockaway Inlet in 1968. She was in active service until 1994. She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. PortSide NewYork has more information about her in their e-museum Red Hook WaterStories. Mary A. Whalen (tanker) Mary A. Whalen, known as the "S.T. Kiddoo" from 1938 to 1958, is a historic oil tanker located in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. She is the home of the non-profit PortSide NewYork, and the group runs programs aboard her.