Exxon Valdez Heads To Scrap Heap

NPR

Published March 26, 2012 at 3:00 PM EDT

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Now, a ship that will live in infamy and soon, it will live in a scrap yard. This oil tanker became a household name on March 24, 1989.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED AUDIO)

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

That was the report on NPR 23 years ago. The ship is no longer an oil tanker, nor is it the Exxon Valdez.

BLOCK: After the disastrous oil spill, it was repaired in San Diego, then it set sail again under the name, Exxon Mediterranean.

SIEGEL: Eventually, as new owners took over, the name continued to evolve.

BLOCK: The Sea River Mediterranean.

SIEGEL: The Dong Fang Ocean, a converted cargo ship.

BLOCK: And, these days, it's called - get this - the Oriental Nicety. And that will be the ship's final name now that the Oriental Nicety has been sold for scrap. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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