The captain of the Exxon Valdez drank alcoholic beverages with shipmates while ashore before the tanker struck a reef in Prince William Sound, according to documents released by a federal panel.
A stack of documents released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday contained interviews detailing drinking by Capt. Joseph Hazelwood before the ship left Valdez, and on at least one occasion aboard ship.The panel is investigating the nation's worst oil spill, caused when the Exxon Valdez hit a reef on March 24 and spilled nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil.
The ship's chief engineer, Jerzy Glowacki, and its radio officer told investigators they went ashore with Hazelwood as the tanker was being loaded, according to the documents.
Glowacki and the radio officer said Hazelwood and a shipping pilot had non-alcoholic drinks at a restaurant, while the others at the table had beer.
Hazelwood and his crewmen split up to do some shopping and met later at a bar. The radio officer said when he arrived at about 4:30 p.m. March 23, Hazelwood and Glowacki already were there. He said each bought one or more rounds of drinks.
He said Hazelwood drank a clear beverage, Glowacki drank gin and tonic and he drank beer. Glowacki told investigators he had three gin and tonics, but did not recall how much Hazelwood had to drink.
"No further information could be developed concerning the activities of the three men between lunch at the restaurant and their meeting at the bar," the documents state.
Glowacki said the three left the bar at about 7 p.m. and returned to the restaurant where they had lunch and ordered two pizzas. Glowacki and the radio officer agreed each of the three men had one alcoholic drink as they waited.
The radio officer also reported seeing Hazelwood drinking aboard ship on one occasion, during a long voyage in February.
According to the documents, Hazelwood admitted drinking non-alcholic beer aboard the vessel on March 24.
On Tuesday , shipping pilot William E. Murphy told the NTSB panel that he smelled alcohol on Hazelwood's breath before the the March 24 accident, but the captain did not act intoxicated.