Oriental Nicety, formerly
Exxon Valdez,
Exxon Mediterranean,
SeaRiver Mediterranean,
S/R Mediterranean,
Mediterranean, and
Dong Fang Ocean, was an
oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in
Prince William Sound spilling hundreds of thousands of
barrels of
crude oil in Alaska. On March 24, 1989, while owned by the former
Exxon Shipping Company, and captained by
Joseph Hazelwood and First Mate James Kunkel bound for
Long Beach, California, the vessel ran aground on the
Bligh Reef resulting in the
second largest oil spill in United States history. The size of the spill is estimated to have been , or 257,000 to 750,000 barrels. In 1989, the
Exxon Valdez oil spill was listed as the 54th largest spill in history.