Exxon Wants to Tow Valdez to San Diego

SAN DIEGO —  Amid assurances that the trip will be safe, Exxon officials announced Monday that they intend to tow to San Diego next month the oil tanker that ran aground off the Alaskan coast in March, causing the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.

Exxon Shipping Co. President Frank J. Iarossi said the Exxon Valdez will be brought from Alaska to undergo $25 million in repairs at the National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. yard on San Diego Bay where the Valdez was built in 1986. Nassco President Richard Vortmann said the job will take about nine months and will create 300 new jobs at the shipyard.

Workers are expected to repair an area in the ship’s hull 700 feet long and 100 feet wide, Iarossi said, which will require 3,000 tons of steel, about 10% of the ship’s total steel weight.

Acknowledging the environmental concerns caused by the ship that spilled 11 million gallons of oil when it struck a reef and polluted about 730 miles of shoreline in pristine Prince William Sound, Iarossi went to unusual lengths to offer assurances that the Valdez is now “environmentally safe.”

‘Truly Sorry’

Iarossi began a press conference by saying that “we at Exxon are truly sorry for the circumstances that led to today’s announcement.” He said that both the outside and inside of the ship have been cleaned and all remaining oil removed from the tanks, clearing the way for towing of the ship to the Nassco yard.

“In the past two months, we have been very active in clearing the oil residue from the tanks and exterior of the vessel,” said Iarossi, who said that the Coast Guard has inspected the ship and certified that there is no oil in the tanks.

Petty Officer Bill Ball, Coast Guard spokesman in Valdez, said that the ship’s tanks “are fairly clean” and added that Coast Guard officials are currently reviewing Exxon’s request for a permit to tow the vessel to San Diego.

‘Safe Transit’

“We have not approved a permit for the vessel to proceed just yet. . . . We’re concerned that there is a safe transit with no chance for pollution,” Ball said.

Company officials said they expect to get towing approval later this month, and it will take four tugs about 20 days to tow the Valdez during the 2,500-mile trip. The tugs will follow a course that will keep the Valdez at least 100 miles offshore, Iarossi said. The Valdez will not fire up its engines during the trip, he added.

In Anchorage, meanwhile, the former captain of the Exxon Valdez pleaded innocent Monday to Alaska felony charges of criminal mischief stemming from the spill.

If convicted on all three counts of second-degree criminal mischief, Joseph Hazelwood could face up to 15 years in jail and $150,000 in fines.