Arrest of Missing Tanker Captain Sought by Alaska

State Atty. Gen. Doug Baily asked New York authorities on Saturday to arrest Joseph Hazelwood, captain of the oil tanker that ran aground here last week, and extradite him to face three misdemeanor criminal charges stemming from his role in the worst oil spill in North American history.

Meanwhile, other Alaskan officials on Saturday indefinitely postponed the fishing season for shrimp and sablefish and were debating whether to cancel a third, even more valuable, season for herring roe because of the hundreds of thousands of barrels of emulsified crude oil still sloshing around Prince William Sound, fouling close to 100 miles of beaches and infiltrating into the Gulf of Alaska.

At the same time, cleanup crews from Exxon labored to get a handle on the widely dispersed spill, trying to coax oil the consistency of “black mayonnaise” off the water and beaches while still draining oil from the 987-foot Exxon Valdez.

The tanker, loaded with 1.2 million barrels of North Slope crude, strayed out of normal sea lanes while under the command of an inexperienced crew member and ran aground on March 24. Coast Guard officials said 10 of the tanker’s 15 compartments were punctured, releasing an estimated 240,000 barrels into wildlife-rich Prince William Sound.

Baily said charges filed late Friday accused the tanker’s 42-year-old captain, whose blood-alcohol level exceeded legal limits when sampled 10 1/2 hours after the accident, of operating a ship under the influence of alcohol, reckless endangerment and criminally negligent discharge of oil.

Maximum penalty for the combined charges is 27 months in jail and a $10,000 fine. Baily said he filed the charges and sought extradition after learning that Hazelwood had left the state before Alaskan criminal investigators could question him.

Magistrate Tracee Schnell in Anchorage issued the arrest warrant and set bail at $50,000.

Police in Suffolk County, N.Y., were reportedly attempting to locate Hazelwood, but it was not clear whether New York state authorities would extradite him to face misdemeanor charges.

In Valdez and the nearby fishing town of Cordova, fishermen reacted bitterly to news that the shrimp and sablefish seasons have been postponed and possibly canceled this year. Even worse was news that the state may drop the lucrative herring roe season that was set to start Saturday. Herring roe, or eggs, are a delicacy in Japan and fetch high prices, giving fishermen an early economic boost to carry them through to the summer salmon season.

Animosity toward Exxon has led the oil giant to cancel its regular town meetings on the spills and beef up security around its temporary headquarters in the Westmark Hotel. Valdez Mayor John Devens, sensing the potential for trouble, has asked Exxon not to bring the leaking tanker to Valdez for repairs once the behemoth is drained of oil and refloated, an event scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday.

Frank Iarossi, president of Exxon Shipping Co., said, “Our objective is to get (the tanker) out of Prince William Sound just as soon as we can,” but he said the ship may need temporary repairs that can only be attempted at Valdez.

Draining and floating the tanker will be a difficult job, Valdez Coast Guard Cmdr. Steve McCall said.

“You don’t want it floating before you want it to float,” he said to explain why it is taking so long to remove oil left in the tanker. “Otherwise, it could slide off the rocks . . . and then sink or roll over or have a really bad list.”

About two-thirds of the 1 million barrels of oil that did not leak from the ship have been transferred to other tankers and shipped out of Alaska, Exxon representatives said. Even after all that can be removed is taken, Iarossi said about 30,000 barrels of oil will remain on the ship, along with several hundred thousand barrels of heavily oiled seawater, when it is refloated.

A barrel is a standard oil industry measurement equivalent to 42 gallons.

As the leaked oil continues to foul beaches and spread, Alaska Gov. Steve Cowper said he has accepted offers of international assistance from Norwegian biologists and a Soviet oil-skimming boat, but it is unclear whether Exxon will agree to accept those offers.