HAZELWOOD GETS TWO CHARGES DISMISSED

By LINDA DEUTSCH
The Associated Press

LONG BEACH, CALIF.- The Coast Guard dismissed charges of drunkenness and misconduct against Exxon Valdez skipper Joseph Hazelwood on Wednesday, but suspended his license as a ship's master.

At an administrative hearing, Hazelwood pleaded no contest to two allegations stemming from the wreck of the tanker, which unleashed the nation's worst oil spill in Prince William Sound.

The plea that resulted in a nine month license suspension covered two allegations: that he violated Coast Guard policy by drinking liquor less than four hours before taking command of the Exxon Valdez, and that he improperly left the vessel's bridge while it was headed for jagged Bligh Reef.

The Coast Guard dismissed a charge that Hazelwood was intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level over 0.04 percent, the Coast Guard standard for operating a vessel. Also dismissed was a charge that he left an improperly licensed third mate in control of the ship.

The Coast Guard proceeding was administrative rather than criminal; the only penalty that could be imposed involved Hazelwood's license.

The defense alleged that Hazelwood's blood alcohol tests were botched and then covered up, but the Coast Guard denied this was why it dismissed the charges.

The 987 foot tanker's hull was ripped open when it plowed into the reef early in the morning of March 24, 1989, spilling nearly 11 millions of Alaska crude into Prince William Sound in the nation's worst oil spill.

After a criminal trial in Anchorage earlier this year, a jury acquitted Hazelwood of intoxication charges, and also found him innocent of recklessness; but it convicted him on a misdemeanor of negligently discharging oil.

He was ordered to pay $50,000 restitution and spend 1,000 hours cleaning beaches at Prince William Sound. He is appealing.

At the Coast Guard hearing, Administrative Law Judge Harry Gardner suspended Hazelwood's master's license for 12 months, but reduced that by three months because the license, issued in 1966, has been held by the Coast Guard since the accident.

Gardner told Hazelwood it was his duty to remain on the bridge of the Exxon Valdez until it had finished a crossing in Prince William Sound.

"It is difficult to understand why you were not on the bridge until you executed the turn," the judge said. "I'm sure you have agonized over this during the last 16 months and I agree with your counsel that you have been through quite an ordeal. Hopefully this will make you an even better master in the future."

Gardner said he concluded the grounding of the Exxon Valdez was the result of human error, citing the actions of the third mate and the helmsman who were on the bridge when the accident occurred. They have not been charged with violations.

In interviews, Hazelwood's lawyers said they believed the tardy disclosure of the alcohol records constituted misconduct by both the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board, which had access to the documents.

"We had no actual physical control of any of the toxicological specimens," the NTSB said in a statement released Wednesday. It said the two laboratories which tested the blood were certified under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the results provided the NTSB "were identified as those of Capt. Joseph Hazelwood."

An NTSB spokeswoman, Drucella Andersen, said her agency had not yet received any papers from Hazelwood's attorneys.

In an interview after Wednesday's hearing, Hazelwood, 43, of Huntington, N.Y., said, "I'm satisfied with the results. It's nice to get this part of the process over."

He said his life has been consumed by litigation since Exxon Valdez disaster put his name in headlines.

Asked if he sees a larger message for the shipping industry in the outcome of his ordeal, Hazelwood said he thought it might drive other tanker captains out of the business.

"From talking to other people, the whole process of what has transpired since the Valdez has given a lot of food for thought. You wonder if you're involved in a maritime accident, what the consequences are," he said, adding that he now knows the consequences.

"Everything in your private life is paraded in public, and you're lampooned from pillar to post. Is the job worth it? I still haven't made up my mind. A lot of good people will leave the field rather than risk this."

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