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 Pollution Act of 1990 limited safeguards against the hazards of oils spills. In 1976, a bill to create a cohesive safe measure for oil pollution was introduced to Congress. Neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate could agree on a single statue and the bill fell out of consideration numerous times. On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez hit aground in the Prince Williams Sound and spilled nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil—the largest marine oil spill in recorded history up to that point. Soon afterward, in June 1989, three smaller spills occurred within coastal waters of the United States. This was