
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 26, 1990                   TAG: 9007260148
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LONG BEACH, CALIF.                                LENGTH: Short

OIL-SPILL SHIP CAPTAIN'S LICENSE SUSPENDED

The Coast Guard dismissed charges of drunkenness and misconduct against Joseph Hazelwood after the former captain of the Exxon Valdez pleaded no contest Wednesday to two lesser counts.

Hazelwood entered the pleas to allegations he violated Coast Guard policy by drinking liquor less than four hours before taking command of the Exxon Valdez and by leaving the vessel's bridge while it was headed for jagged Bligh Reef.

The Coast Guard dismissed a charge that Hazelwood was intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level over 0.04 percent, the Coast Guard standard for operating a vessel. Also dismissed was a charge that he left an improperly licensed third mate in control of the ship.

At the Coast Guard hearing, Administrative Law Judge Harry Gardner suspended Hazelwood's master's license for 12 months, but reduced that by three months because the license, issued in 1966, has been held by the Coast Guard since the accident.

The defense alleged that Hazelwood's blood alcohol tests were botched and then covered up, but the Coast Guard denied this was why it dismissed the charges.

by CNB