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
Oil tanker oil tankers has ranged from 26.9 to 31.5 years. In 2005, the price for new oil tankers in the , , and ranges were US$43 million, $58 million, and $120 million respectively. In 1985 these vessels would have cost $18 million, $22 million, and $47 million respectively. Oil tankers are often sold second-hand. In 2005, worth of oil tankers were sold used. Some representative prices for that year include $42.5M for a tanker, $60.7 million for a , $73 million for a , and $116 million for tanker. For a concrete example, in 2006, Bonheur subsidiary First Olsen paid US$76.5