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Environment

Oil spill might have
been averted if crews
not cut, union charges

By TIM WHEELER
The worst oil spill ever in North America
might have been prevented if Exxon Ship-
Ping company had not aggressively reduced
the number of seamen manning company
tankers,

That charge was made march 28 by John

Hillman, a governor of the Exxon Seaman’s

Union in Bayonne, N.J.

“We've been faced with an all-out man-
agement attack on our agreement,” Hil-
Iman told the People’s Daily World (PDW)
in New York. “The company’s influence on
the Coast Guard is so overwhelming that
they approve Exxon’s requests for waivers
from manning requirements.”

Hillman said the Coast Guard approved
Exxon’s request to sharply reduce the crew
of the Exxon Valdez. It eliminated a radio
operator and slashed the number of deck-
hands from six able-bodied seamen (ABs)
and three ordinary seamen (OS) to four
ABs and two OSs. This crew operates a
Supertanker that is 978 feet long — the
length of more than three football fields,
Hillman said.

“The company is trying to save nickels
and dimes but one more man on deck might
have prevented this costly disaster,” he said.

And Exxon “wants further reduction in
crews.”

Loaded with 1.26 million barrels of crude
oil, from the ,Trans-Alaska pipeline, . the
Exxon Valdez ran aground March 24 as it
was steaming out of Valdez into Prince Wil-
liam Sound. Several compartments rup-
tured and the tanker spilled 200,000 or more
barrels into the sound, a body ‘of water
noted for its rich aquatic life.

This is not the first Exxon tanker disaster.
Hillman wrote a letter to members of the
seaman’s union on March 14, citing the
March 3 ground of the Exxon Houston in

high seas off Hawaii. “This is an incident —
where ... our union can say: ‘We told you ..

so!” Hillman wrote. “We are fortunate or
lucky that some of our union brothers and
sisters were not killed in a most dangerous
and needless operation.” ae
Hillman’s letter charged that Exxon
“didn’t have enough personnel to deal with
this situation. We have seen too many
multi-million dollar screw-ups by senior
officers — managers — to not. being to
wonder whether our company can survive
these costs.”
Hillman said the union is awaiting results
of the Coast: Guard investigation before it
issues a full statement on the Exxon Valdez

disaster.

A West Coast Exxon tanker crew
member Tuesday told the PDW that the
company’s cutbacks in wages, increases in
overtime and sharp reductions in crew size
have created deep problems of morale
among Exxon seamen, including officers.

“There are severe problems,” the source
told the PDW. “They eliminated a four-day
paid leave, cut overtime wage rate 10 per
cent and cut our base pay six per cent, for an
overall 20 per cent cut. Officers took a cut
four years ago and their morale has been
very low ever since.”

Exxon, which has the largest tanker fleet
of any U.S. oil company, has made ener-
getic efforts to increase safety using propa-
ganda, the source said. “But they are not
going to succeed” with ships so drastically
undermanned.

The source said tanker crews work under
conditions of extreme tension, especially
during loading and unloading when the
captain and chief mate are often on the
bridge for 24 hours straight. Frank Iaross,
president of the Exxon Shipping company,
admitted March 27 that the pilot steering
the Exxon Valdez at the time of the accident
was not certified for commanding tankers
in these waters.

A third mate, Gregory Cousins, was in
command at the time of the grounding
while the captain, Joseph J. Hazelwood,
was below decks. ee meni

Hazelwood has since been fired by Exxon
following medical tests which showed he
had a blood alcohol reading 50 per cent
over the legal limit some 10 hours after the
accident. He has also been charged on three
counts, including reckless endangerment
and negligent discharge of oil.

Hazelwood had previously been con-
victed twice of impaired driving, indicating
a continuing problem with alcohol.

But the Exxon crew member warned
against scapegoating the captain while
ignoring the underlying conditions caused
by Exxon’s crew cutting policies.

The oil multinational has also come
under fire in Valdez for its inadequate mea-
sures in dealing with the spill. Although the
company claims to have 600 people work-
ing on clean-up, fisherman and environ-
mentalists have charged that Exxon has
been slow in bringing in the necessary
equipment, is virtually ineffective in clean-
ing up beaches and has spurned the assist-
ance of volunteers.

Tim Wheeler is Washington correspondent
for the People’s Daily World.

DN

Workers’
Benevolent
Association

A progressive, fraternal society in.
‘Canada operating since 1922, offers
insurance protection at a minimum cost.

e Life insurance

e Insurance-savings plans

e Pension plans

e Family insurance plans

e Low interest on loans

e Profits shared with members

Apply to the WBA Branch in your locality
or write:

Workers’ Benevolent Association
595 Pritchard Ave., Winnipeg, Man., R2W 2K4

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Pacific Tribune, April 10, 1989 « 11