Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Captain Joel Hazelwood crashed an oil tanker into the Prince William Sound which resulted in the Exxon Valdez oil spill, one of the worst spills seen in the history of the United States since 1989. 11 million gallons of oil were spilled across 1,300 miles of the Alaskan coast.
This not only impacted the fishing industry but also placed the wildlife in the area in serious danger. As a result, Hazelwood was charged and convicted with operating the tanker while under the influence. He was also charged with negligent discharge of oil. In the end, the cost required to clean up the oil spill, as well as the legal costs and fines for what he had done, set Exxon back by $4.4 billion.