Business Forum: Learning from Exxon; Prepare for Crisis, It's Part of Business

Synopsis

Dong Fang Ocean, formerly Exxon Valdez, Exxon Mediterranean, SeaRiver Mediterranean, S/R Mediterranean, and Mediterranean, is an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound spilling hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil in Alaska. On March 24, 1989, while owned by the former Exxon Shipping Company, and captained by Joseph Hazelwood 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 at 40,900 to 120,000 m3 (10,800,000 to 32,000,000 US gal), or 257,000 to 750,000 barrels. In 1989, Exxon Valdez oil spill was listed as the 54th largest spill in history.

While this incident was a disaster to the environment and ecology of Bligh Reef and surrounding waterline, to Exxon Corporation, the vessels' owner it was a crisis. This article highlights some of the short falls in Exxon's management of this crisis.

This is a good case study on crisis management.

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