Word: valdez
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...Aside from the question of Hazelwood's drinking, there is a dispute over the key issue of the Valdez accident: Was Third Mate Gregory Cousins qualified to be in control of the vessel as it headed out of the sound? Though the Coast Guard emphatically stated after the wreck that Cousins was not so qualified, the matter is far murkier. Federal regulations governing "pilotage endorsements" in the sound have been altered so often that Cousins may have met the standard that was in force at the time. Shortly before the accident, Congress was considering legislation that would have eased federal...
...Sharp cuts in the size of the tanker's crew had left the Valdez shorthanded, contributing to fatigue that may have helped cause the accident...
...encourage employees with substance-abuse problems to volunteer for treatment, he was not penalized but closely monitored. Rawl claims that Exxon supervisors paid an average of two visits a month to Hazelwood for two years after his hospital stay, followed by regular observations after he was transferred to the Valdez...
Nobody has emerged, however, to claim that Hazelwood ever drank heavily aboard the Valdez; in fact, his management of the ship won the praise of superiors. Both in 1987 and 1988 the Valdez was singled out for a prestigious company award for "safety and performance." Nevertheless, he was increasingly disillusioned with his career, largely for reasons ranging from longer work hours and frozen pay levels to the growing powerlessness of captains to make their own judgments. A week before the oil spill, Hazelwood told a friend that he was thinking about taking a job as a harbor pilot...
...command anything bigger than the 16-ft. catamaran sitting in his backyard. His future hinges entirely on what an Alaskan jury decides took place on the night of March 23. Was Hazelwood drunk? He has admitted drinking just two beers over a five-hour period in the town of Valdez before boarding the ship. At least one barmate, Radio Electronics Officer Joel Roberson, contends that Hazelwood was drinking a "clear" beverage that was probably vodka. Still, his companions agree that Hazelwood did not consume an excessive amount of alcohol while ashore...