Witness Says Tanker Captain Appeared Sober

Except for a telltale trace of liquor on his breath, tanker captain Joseph Hazelwood appeared sober and in control of the Exxon Valdez an hour before it hit a reef, a marine pilot testified Tuesday.

Under cross-examination by Hazelwood’s attorney, Ed Murphy told jurors that he saw none of the usual signs of intoxication in the captain when Murphy left the ship shortly before it ran aground and caused the nation’s worst oil spill.

“Did you see anything that indicated the captain was impaired in any way?” defense attorney Michael Chalos asked.

“Not at all,” Murphy replied.

Murphy said Hazelwood’s speech was not slurred. He also answered negatively when asked if Hazelwood’s movements changed, if his eyes were watery and if he had a mood change from that afternoon when the men had lunch together.

“He seemed the same to me,” Murphy said.

The responses challenged the prosecution’s theory that Hazelwood had been drinking all day and was not in control when the Exxon Valdez foundered on Bligh Reef and spilled about 11 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound.

But Jerzy Glowacki, the chief engineer of the tanker, testified Tuesday that Hazelwood had three or four drinks prior to the accident.

Glowacki said Hazelwood drank “perhaps two, perhaps three” vodkas at the Pipeline Club during three hours of drinking and then ordered another drink at another bar before returning to the tanker.

Hazelwood is on trial on a felony charge of second-degree mischief, and misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment, negligent discharge of oil and operating a vessel while intoxicated. The maximum penalty for conviction on all counts is seven years, three months in prison and $61,000 in fines.