NEW DELHI —The notorious Exxon Valdez tanker, responsible for one of the worst oil spills in U.S. history two decades ago, has been bought by an Indian company almost certainly to be scrapped for its steel and spare parts.
Best Oasis Ltd. would not disclose the price or purpose of its purchase, but it buys old ships solely to dismantle them, reuse salvageable material and discard the rest.
On March 24, 1989, millions of gallons of crude oil spewed into Alaska’s ecologically sensitive Prince William Sound when the Exxon Valdez dashed against rocks, coating the shoreline with petroleum sludge and killing nearly 40,000 birds. The spill caused incalculable environmental damage and demolished the fishing industry in the area.
Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp. spent $900 million in restitution in a 1991 settlement and is battling more litigation from the spill.
The tanker moved on, with five name changes since the spill and ownership changing repeatedly, apparently to keep the ship in use while distancing it from the disaster.
