On March 24, 1989 the third mate on the Exxon Valdez lost track of the ship’s position and  ran the ship into  Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, resulting in a spill of roughly 40,000 tons of crude oil, the largest offshore spill in the US prior to last year’s Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill.

After the Exxon Valdez spill, new safety measures were instituted in Prince William Sound including the addition of tugs to scout for ice. On December 23, 2009 the captain of the Pathfinder, an ice scout tug, lost track the tug’s position and ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling about 6,400 gallons of diesel fuel.   A report from the US Coast Guard’s investigation is due out this week and is reported to blame a lack of crew communication for the grounding.

Twenty year separates the two accidents. The two things they have in common is that Bligh Reef hasn’t moved and that human error is still with us.

Report faults captain in tugboat grounding on Bligh Reef