Bligh Reef Bligh Reef Bligh Reef, sometimes known as Bligh Island Reef, is a reef off the coast of Bligh Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska. This was the location of the 1989 "Exxon Valdez" oil spill. After the incident, US Code 33 § 2733 mandated the operation of an automated navigation light to prevent future collisions with the reef. Despite these efforts the tug "Pathfinder" ran aground on Bligh Reef on Dec 24, 2009, rupturing its tanks and spilling diesel fuel. Bligh Reef is also where Alaska Steamship Company's Olympia ran aground in 1910. Bligh Reef serves as a fishing ground
History of the oil tanker ships with oil instead of coal, mass-production of automobiles and increasing aviation, all increased demand for oil and thus oil transport. In 1928 the World's largest oil tanker was the , completed that year for Canadian owners by Bremer Vulkan in Germany. With the right connections at the Shipping Board, ships could be bought cheaply, which caused a lot of fraud. This system was too complicated for the oil companies however, so when World War II started, independents owned 39 percent of the world tanker fleet. This was especially because oil companies needed capital to invest in the growing oil