VALDEZ, Alaska -- Investigators probing the largest oil spill in U.S. history focused Sunday on the actions of the captain and two of his crewmen aboard the Exxon tanker that hit a charted reef and left the massive slick.
All three were required to give blood and urine samples, whichwere sent to Anchorage for analysis. They were also subpoenaed to give information to National Transportation Safety Board investigators taking over the probe Sunday in Valdez.
Exxon Shipping Co. President Frank Iarossi said that before the tanker went aground the captain retired to his cabin and turned over control of the ship to the third mate, who did not have a required certificate to operate the vessel in the tricky waters south of the Valdez oil port on Alaska's southern coast.
The 987-foot tanker Exxon Valdez, carrying 53 million gallons of Alaskan crude oil to Long Beach, Calif., ran aground on the reef about 12:30 a.m. Friday, spilling 11 million gallons of its cargo into Prince William Sound and fouling the pristine waters rich with marine life.
Investigators were seeking to learn not just what happened on the tanker to cause it to run aground, but also what key crewmen did before they left port.
Capt. Joseph Hazelwood, an experienced skipper who lives in Huntington, N.Y., allegedly told investigators that he visited bars in Valdez between noon and 7 p.m. Thursday before sailing his loaded tanker out of the oil port, according to a source with knowledge of the preliminary investigation. But he insisted hehad nothing more than a small quantity of beer and drank mostly iced tea, according to the source.
The source declined to discuss official suspicions.
Coast Guard officials became suspicious after responding to the accident site and called state troopers at 2:19 a.m. and again at 4:20 a.m.
When a trooper arrived, the captain was asleep in his cabin, the source said, while his grounded ship was spewing what became the largest oil spill in American history.
Iarossi said he did not know why the skipper left the bridge and also had no information about the captain being asleep. He said he could not explain why control of the tanker was placed in the hands of a crewman not authorized to guide the vessel in those waters.
Hazelwood has 20 years experience with Exxon and 12 years experience as a master, while third mate Gregory Cousins has had three years experience, Iarossi said.
Iarossi repeated early Coast Guard statements that the vessel had permission to steer off course to avoid ice in the southbound shipping lane and said another ship did the same three hours earlier.
Oil tankers take on ship pilots to guide them in and out of port, but the Exxon Valdez pilot left the tanker before its detour. Radar tracks tankers, but the ship reached radar limits and was not being monitored because no other ships were nearby.
Locals in Valdez scoffed at the threat of icebergs to a 987-foot tanker, but Lt. Ed Wieliczkiewicz said other vessels have asked for permission to change course to avoid ice floating in shipping lanes from nearby Columbia Glacier. Iarossi said he didn't know how big the icebergs were.
Hazelwood steered the tanker from one lane to the other and left the bridge, giving control to the helmsman and third mate, Iarossi said.
Hazelwood said he was going to his cabin to do paperwork, a source said.
But the tanker apparently was not properly sailing down the northbound lane and was heading at an eastward slant. The mate, apparently realizing this, tried to turn west to the northbound lane but it was too late. An attempt to make a sharp turn failed. The mate reportedly called the captain for help when when the tanker hit well-known Bligh Reef -- 1.2 miles from the authorized shipping lane, Iarossi said.
He said Exxon ruled out operation problems with the tanker and said this left an impression human error was responsible but declined to elaborate, saying no crewmen were disciplined or suspended.
Officials have not charged anyone with wrongdoing.
Blood and urine test results for drugs and alcohol were not available Sunday afternoon.
The subpoenaed crewmen were expected to tell their story to federal investigators Monday.
