Exxon Valdez punitive damages to the Supreme Court which capped the damages to US $507.5 million in June, 2008. On August 27, 2008, Exxon Mobil agreed to pay 75% of the US $507.5 million damages ruling to settle the 1989 "Exxon Valdez" oil spill off Alaska. In June 2009, a federal ruling ordered Exxon to pay an additional US$480 million in interest on their delayed punitive damage awards. After repairs, "Exxon Valdez" was renamed "Exxon Mediterranean", then "SeaRiver Mediterranean" in the early 1990s, when Exxon transferred their shipping business to a new subsidiary company, River Maritime Inc. The name was later shortened
Oil tanker immense numbers of fish were killed. Considering the volume of oil carried by sea, however, tanker owners' organisations often argue that the industry's safety record is excellent, with only a tiny fraction of a percentage of oil cargoes carried ever being spilled. The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners has observed that "accidental oil spills this decade have been at record low levels—one third of the previous decade and one tenth of the 1970s—at a time when oil transported has more than doubled since the mid 1980s." Oil tankers are only one source of oil spills. According to the United