Prince William Sound:
Paradise Lost?
Spill Timeline



This timeline summarizes the events leading up to and including the grounding of the Exxon Valdez. It starts on March 23rd just before midnight and ends just after midnight on March 25th, 1989.


March 22, 1989
2335 Exxon Valdez arrives at the Valdez Marine Terminal, Berth 5
March 23, 1989
0054 Transfer of ballast water started
0415 Transfer of ballast water complete
0505 Transfer of oil began
1030 Hazelwood, Glowacki, and Roberson went ashore
1924 Loading of cargo completed
Securing of the deck for sea began
Navigational equipment was tested
2020 Pilot Murphy arrived at the ship for the outbound trip
2030 Hazelwood, Glowacki, and Roberson returned to the ship
2040 Hazelwood arrived on the bridge to find the pilot waiting
2112 Last mooring line removed
2121 Vessel clear of the dock
2130 Hazelwood left the bridge
23XX Hazelwood returned to the bridge and assumed control of the vessel
The ship was on a heading of 219 degrees
2324 Pilot departed the ship
2325 Hazelwood notified the Vessel Traffic Center that the pilot was away and the ship would be changing course to avoid ice
2331 Vessel heading was 200 degrees
2339 Vessel heading was 180 degrees
2343 Hazelwood ordered the Gyro turned on
2352 Hazelwood left the bridge for his quarters leaving Cousins in charge
235X Cousins ordered the Gyro turned off
2356 Cousins ordered 10 degrees right rudder to return to the tanker lanes
March 24, 1989
0001 Cousins ordered 20 degrees right rudder
0004 Cousins ordered hard right rudder
The deck log of the Vessel shows 0004 as the time of grounding
0006 Vessel heading was 247 degrees
0007 Cousins called Hazelwood and said there was possibly trouble
0009 -
0015
Vessel encountered a series of "jolts" as it grounded on Bligh Reef
Cousins ordered Hard Left, the Hard Right rudder to try and swing around the object
Vessel came to rest at a heading of 253 degrees
0027 Hazelwood notified the Vessel Traffic Center that the ship was aground on Bligh Reef


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