WITNESS: CAPTAIN ADMITTED MISTAKE

By DON HUNTER
Daily News reporter

ANCHORAGE- To the list of sea captains who have said Joseph Hazelwood should have been on the bridge when the Exxon Valdez went aground, prosecutors Wednesday added another name: Joseph Hazelwood.

An Exxon supervisor who talked to Hazelwood early on the morning of March 24 testified that the captain told him it was his fault the ship rammed into Bligh Reef. After giving an update on the ship's condition, Hazelwood discussed the cause of the grounding, said Paul Myers, who now is project manager for the repair of the vessel.

Myers said Hazelwood told him "the third mate zigged for ice and the ship went aground."

"What else did he indicate?" asked Prosecutor Brent Cole.

"He indicated that this had happened and that it was his fault, he was to blame," Myers said. "He had just gone down to do some paperwork when this had happened. And that he should have been on the bridge."

Defense attorneys attempted to soften the impact of Myers' testimony. They asked if Myers thought Hazelwood was simply accepting responsibility for the actions of his crew. But Superior Court Judge Karl Johnstone refused to allow those questions. Johnstone said Myers could testify about what Hazelwood said to him that night, but that he could not speculate about what Hazelwood meant.

The Exxon Valdez ran aground just after midnight March 24, spilling nearly 11 million gallons of oil. The spill fouled hundreds of miles of shoreline and killed thousands of birds and hundreds of sea mammals. Hazelwood is charged with a felony charge of criminal mischief and three misdemeanors: negligent discharge of oil, reckless endangerment, and operating a vessel under the influence. If convicted, he could be jailed for seven years and fined $61,000.

Myers is testifying as a prosecution witness under an immunity agreement. He said his attorney is a former prosecutor and insisted the state agree not to prosecute him before allowing Myers to talk to the state. Myers supervised the activities of the Valdez and several other Exxon vessels at the time of the grounding, but it is unclear what charges, if any, the state could have filed against him.

Myers said he called the Valdez at about 1:40 a.m., or about one hour and 35 minutes after it ran aground on Bligh Reef. The call lasted 53 minutes; Myers estimated his conversation with Hazelwood lasted at least 10 minutes.

Myers said Hazelwood didn't discuss what he had done since the grounding, and that they had "no specific discussion about getting the ship off (the reef)."

The state, basing its claim on a tape recorded conversation between Hazelwood and Coast Guard Cmdr. Steve McCall, says Hazelwood ordered the ship's engines to full ahead and executed a series of rudder maneuvers in an attempt to force the vessel off the reef. That could have caused the ship to capsize.

Hazelwood's attorneys say he was attempting to keep the ship on the reef, not move it, and that McCall will back up that claim.

Earlier in the day, a tanker captain who was previously assigned to the Valdez told jurors Hazelwood violated Exxon shipping policies when he left the bridge on March 24 with the ship in the middle of maneuvering through an ice field.

But, Capt. Michael Stalzer said, that doesn't mean Hazelwood violated any state laws.

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