# Canonical recap data for Exxon Valdez Oil Tanker Disaster (1989)
# Source: https://recap.at/1989/exxon-valdez-disaster
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: exxon-valdez-disaster
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1989/exxon-valdez-disaster"
title: Exxon Valdez Oil Tanker Disaster
subtitle: The worst U.S. environmental catastrophe of its era galvanized modern ocean-spill liability and conservation law.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1989-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1989
decade: 1980
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound, spilling its cargo of crude oil into the sea. On 24 March 1989, while owned by the former Exxon Shipping Company, captained by Joseph Hazelwood and First Mate James Kunkel, and bound for Long Beach, California, the vesse
summaryLong: Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound, spilling its cargo of crude oil into the sea. On 24 March 1989, while owned by the former Exxon Shipping Company, captained by Joseph Hazelwood and First Mate James Kunkel, and bound for Long Beach, California, the vessel ran aground on the Bligh Reef, resulting in the second largest oil spill in United States history. The size of the spill is estimated to have been 40,900 to 120,000 m3. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill was listed as the 54th-largest spill in history.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Exxon_Valdez_Oil_Spill_%2813266806523%29.jpg/1280px-Exxon_Valdez_Oil_Spill_%2813266806523%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Exxon Valdez"
importance: 84
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez"
  title: Exxon Valdez
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- disaster
metaDescription: Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound, spilling its cargo of crude oil into the sea. On 24 March 19
wikidataQid: Q335541
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260626024820/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-26
  label: Exxon Valdez
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez"
