Exxon Valdez Oil Spill | NOAA's Ocean Service Office of Response and Restoration

Information for:
Emergency Responders
Students and Teachers
Interested Public
Research Institutions
Other Agencies

Current News

Special Note

FAQs

Catalogs of:
Publications
Software & Data Sets
Web Portals
Links
Downloads
Image Galleries
Abandoned Vessels
Drift Card Studies

About OR&R

Advanced Search

Site Index

Document Accessibility

Home | Image Galleries | Emergency Response

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Photos taken after the tanker Exxon Valdez grounded on Bligh Reef in the upper part of Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989. The tanker was carrying approximately 53 million gallons of crude oil. Within a few days, it had spilled almost 11 million gallons of the oil into Prince William Sound.

Click on the image to return to the gallery

Exxon Valdez - boom, barge, and skimmer

Cleanup operations included skimming oil from the water surface with towed booms, as shown below. Two boats are towing the boom (only one is visible in this photo). Oil is collecting within the boom, and a small skimmer at the apex of the boom is removing the oil from the water surface. The skimmed oil is being pumped through a hose into the barge that is following the skimmer.

(08.25.04, unknown)

Related Pages on Our Site

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Overview of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Includes links to many related resources, including photo galleries.

Response to the Exxon Valdez Spill Within hours after the tanker Exxon Valdez spilled nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989, a team of NOAA OR&R; scientists arrived on-scene.

Summary Points: 10 Years of Intertidal Monitoring After the Exxon Valdez Spill A short summary of the main findings of NOAA biologists studying the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on intertidal shorelines in Prince William Sound.