Joseph Jeffrey Hazelwood (September 24, 1946 – ) was an American sailor. He was the captain of Exxon Valdez during her 1989 oil spill. He was accused of being intoxicated which contributed to the disaster, but was cleared of this charge at his 1990 trial after witnesses testified that he was sober around the time of the accident. Hazelwood was convicted of a lesser charge, negligent discharge of oil (a misdemeanor), fined $50,000, and sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service.
Early years
Hazelwood was born in Hawkinsville, Georgia, and raised in Huntington, Long Island, New York. His father, Joseph, was a United States Marine Corps torpedo bomber pilot turned airline pilot. His mother, Margaret, was born in Georgia. Hazelwood was their first-born son. He was married in 1969 to Suzanne and had one daughter, Alison (born 1975).
In 1964, Hazelwood graduated from Huntington High School, where his IQ was reportedly tested at 138. As a youth he was an avid sailor and was a member of the Sea Scouts. In May 1968, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in marine transportation from the State University of New York Maritime College.
Early career
Following college, on June 10, 1968, he was hired as a Third Mate by Humble Oil and Refining Company, which later became Exxon Shipping Company. His first ship was Esso Florence homeported in Wilmington, North Carolina. Hazelwood climbed the ranks of the merchant marine until he obtained a master's license at age 31.
By age 32, he was the youngest captain working for Exxon when he took command of Exxon Philadelphia, a California-to-Alaska oil tanker, in 1978. In 1985 he was master of Exxon Chester when the asphalt carrier ran into a storm during her New York to South Carolina trip. High winds damaged the ship's mast including radar and radio communications antennas. Though the crew was prepared to abandon ship, Hazelwood rallied them and guided the ship to safety. In 1987, he became the alternate master of Exxon Valdez which subsequently received Exxon Fleet safety awards for the year of 1987 and 1988.
Hazelwood said that he was diagnosed with a form of "depression, characterized by episodic abuse of alcohol". His driver's license had been suspended or revoked three times by the state of New York for alcohol violations since 1984. He entered a rehabilitation program in 1985 at South Oaks Hospital in Amityville, New York. Following rehabilitation he received 90 days of leave to attend Alcoholics Anonymous. At the time of the Exxon Valdez incident in March 1989, his New York state driving privileges were suspended as a result of a driving under the influence arrest on September 13, 1988.
Exxon Valdez oil spill
Exxon Valdez departed the port of Valdez, Alaska, at 9:12 p.m. on March 23, 1989, with 53 million gallons of crude oil bound for California. A harbor pilot guided the ship through the Valdez Narrows before departing the ship and returning control to Hazelwood, the ship's master. The ship maneuvered out of the outbound traffic lane in the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) to avoid icebergs. Following the maneuver and sometime after 11 p.m., Hazelwood departed the navigation bridge and was in his stateroom at the time of the accident.
He left Third Mate Gregory Cousins in charge of the navigation bridge and Able Seaman Robert Kagan at the helm with instructions from the third mate to return to the southbound traffic lane in the TSS at a prearranged point. Exxon Valdez failed to return to the shipping lanes and struck Bligh Reef at around 12:04 a.m. on March 24, 1989. The accident resulted in the discharge of around 11 million gallons of oil, 20% of the cargo, into Prince William Sound.
Exxon fired Hazelwood following the accident.
During Hazelwood's trial, Alaska state prosecutors failed to convince the jury that Hazelwood was intoxicated at the time of the grounding. By his own admission, Hazelwood drank "two or three vodkas" between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. that same night, before boarding the Exxon Valdez at 8:25 p.m. His blood alcohol content was found to be .061. However, the defense argued that the blood samples were taken nearly ten hours after the incident and were mishandled.