Making of ‘Exxon Valdez’ (by Natalie B. Fobes, 1989), 2016

The story behind the photograph…

On 24 March 1989, having taken on board a full load of Prudhoe Bay crude oil, the single-hull tanker Exxon Valdez left the trans-Alaska pipeline terminal of Valdez. A few miles from port, the ship met with disaster when it ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound. Seattle-based photographer Natalie B. Fobes was one of the first to arrive on the scene. The remote location – a habitat for salmon, sea birds, harbour seals, sea otters and killer whales – was accessible only by helicopter, plane or boat. Approximately 11 million US gallons of oil had spilled, and would eventually cover 11,000 square miles (28,000 km2) of ocean and 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of coastline. On 25 March, Fobes noted in her journal: ‘Got my first look at the spill. I can’t believe it. The fumes are nauseating as we flew at 1500 feet. Even at this altitude I can’t see the edge of the spill. How in the hell are they going to clean this up.’ Her photographs for National Geographic magazine captured the spreading devastation, against the serene backdrop of the Chugach Mountains. Fobes’s testimony and her images of one of the worst environmental disasters in US history would later be used in federal and state courts.