On March 24, 1989 the "Exxon Valdez" ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska creating one of the largest oil spills in American history. On April 11, 1989 the task force overseeing the cleanup requested the use of "Yaquina". She loaded up with a month's fuel and food, a supply of spare parts, two thousand yards of oil boom, extra foul-weather and cold-weather clothes for the crew, and even a 34-foot skimming vessel, before sailing from Portland. Rough weather in the Gulf of Alaska forced her to take the longer Inside Passage route, but the ship arrived in Prince William Sound on April 19, 1989.