document: An unqualified mate was piloting the Exxon Valdez -- violating both Coast Guard regulations and company policy -- when the tanker crashed into rocks , unleashing the worst oil spill in U.S. history , Exxon Shipping Co. said Sunday . Exxon also disclosed that the Long Beach-bound tanker actually was involved in two separate accidents that night in pristine Prince William Sound . Meanwhile , winds kicked up around the crippled ship , stirring fears that choppy waters could destabilize the Exxon Valdez and sweep the slick ashore . Wildlife experts were summoned from California to coordinate any efforts to rescue birds and sea otters , whose feathers and fur make them the most vulnerable to oil contamination . Oil-Covered Birds , Otters Biologists already have counted 95 birds and two otters covered with oil but were unable to capture them for cleaning . Killer whales , sea lions and ducks also have been spotted swimming in the muck . Cleanup efforts continued slowly , and Alaska Gov. Steve Cowper declared Prince William Sound a disaster area , freeing state resources for cleanup and paving the way for a federal disaster declaration . Many questions about the disaster remained unanswered . Still unexplained is why Third Mate Gregory Cousins was steering the 987-foot vessel through the tricky , iceberg-dotted waters on Friday . Frank Iarossi , president of Exxon Shipping , told reporters that Capt. Joseph Hazelwood was one flight below the bridge in his cabin when the Exxon Valdez hit the first jagged rock pinnacle about a mile outside shipping lanes . The ship then `` slid about two miles '' under full power and hit more underwater rocks , Iarossi said . At no time did the ship lose steering , he added . Iarossi said he did not know whether Hazelwood took the wheel after the first accident , or how much time elapsed between the two incidents . There would have been no reason for the 42-year-old captain to go below to use the bathroom or get coffee , since both are available on the bridge , Iarossi said . `` I agree something is missing , '' Iarossi told reporters and local residents at a press conference . Cousins , a three-year employee of Exxon , did not have the Coast Guard certification required to pilot through the sound but was qualified under other circumstances to steer the ship , Iarossi said . Puts Off Filing Charges `` We 're not going to file any charges until we are done with our investigation , '' said Coast Guard spokesman Todd Nelson . `` The Coast Guard may seem slow and plodding at times , but if we file charges , we 're going to make them stick , '' he added . Nelson said piloting a ship without proper certification is a civil , not criminal , violation , which ultimately could result in suspension or revocation of the captain 's license . Exxon has not made any of the Exxon Valdez 's 20 crew members available for interviews . The Coast Guard served subpoenas Saturday on the captain , helmsman and third mate to ensure that they make themselves available to investigators . A team from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived Sunday to probe the cause of the accident . Experts from the International Bird Rescue Center in Berkeley , Calif. , set up a rehabilitation center here Sunday in case oiled birds are captured . Otter experts from Hubbs Marine Research Institute at Sea World in San Diego were due to arrive today . But even if animals turn up in distress , rescues may not be feasible . `` Human life and safety is more important , '' said Pamela Bergmann , the Department of the Interior representative assessing the situation . She said it might be too perilous to try to capture panicky birds and otters from boats in the frigid water , and there is no road access to the shores where they are likely to show up . A monitor from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said he felt encouraged about impact on the area 's abundant marine life after patrolling the 50-square-mile slick by boat Saturday . `` The reason we have n't seen a large number of birds affected so far is that the oil is out in the middle of the sound , '' said Everett Robinson-Wilson , the agency 's environmental contaminant coordinator . `` The weather will help us or kill us , '' he added . Winds of up to 35 m.p.h. were expected by today . Neither Exxon nor the state and federal agencies involved in the operation could say how much oil had been mopped up or what percentage of the slick is contained . The Exxon Valdez spewed about 250,000 barrels of North Slope crude into the ice-blue waters . Another 1 million barrels remain aboard the damaged ship , but no new leakage has been reported . Pumps were being used to siphon the remaining oil into a sister tanker Sunday , an operation expected to take up to a week . Salvagers hope the two-year-old Exxon Valdez will be able to float free once its load is lightened . Up to $ 20 Million Damages Iarossi estimated damage to the $ 125-million ship at $ 10 million to $ 20 million . Videotapes filmed by divers revealed 10 sizable holes in the ship 's hull , ranging from 8 feet by 15 feet to 20 feet by 6 feet , Iarossi said . Rocks Charted He indicated that the rocks the ship hit were charted and well within range of the Exxon Valdez 's navigational equipment . No disciplinary action has been taken against any crew members , Iarossi said . The executive promised to make public results of mandatory drug and alcohol tests on crew members . So far , oil has washed ashore only on two tiny islands in the sound , and beach cleanup efforts were under way . Has n't Seen Plan `` We have been told by Exxon that they will come up with an organized cleanup plan , but we 've yet to see one , '' said Barbara Holian , spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation . The agency is studying its `` legal options '' and may ask the Coast Guard to take over the cleanup from Exxon , she said . At Coast Guard offices here , Nelson said such a move was unlikely . `` The Coast Guard does n't have tons and tons of its own equipment , and it would have to hire the same people Exxon has , '' Nelson said . `` That would just slow things down . `` Right now , Exxon is the oil company with the deep pockets , and it 's cleaning up its own spill within federal guidelines . '' RANKING THE EXXON VALDEZ SPILL 11 million gallons that have leaked so far from the Exxon Valdez are dwarfed by some of the record spills around the world : Size Location Date Cause -LRB- gallons -RRB- Ixtoc 1 oil well , southernc June 3 , 1979 Blowout 183,960,000 Gulf of Mexico Norwuz oil field , Feb. , 1983 Blowout 183,000,000 -LRB- est -RRB- Persian Gulf Atlantic Empress/Aegean July 19 , 1979 Collision 91,980,000 Capt. , off Trinidad Castillo de Bellver , Aug. 6 , 1983 Fire 76,650,000 off S.Africa Amoco Cadiz , near March 16 , 1978 Grounding 68,371,800 Portsall , France Torrey Canyon , off March 18 , 1967 Grounding 36,485,400 Land 's End , England But the Exxon Valdez has the potential for vast environmental damage because it is contained within a pristine Alaskan sound . And it is the largest U.S. oil spill to date : Location Date Cause Size Burmah Agate tanker , Galveston Nov. 1 , 1979 Collision 10,700,000 Bay , Tex. . Argo Merchant tanker , off Dec. 15 , 1976 Grounding 7,600,000 Massachusetts Exploratory well , Ranger , Tex. . Nov. 6 , 1985 Blowout 6,300,000 Ashland Oil Co. tank , Jefferson Jan. 2 , 1988 Rupture 3,800,000 Borough , Pa. . Alvenus tanker , Cameron , La. . July 30 , 1984 Grounding 2,800,000 Puerto Rican tanker , San Francisco Oct. 31 , 1984 Fire 2,000,000 Source : 1989 World Almanac , Golob 's Oil Pollution Bulletin .
extractive_keyphrases: oil spill exxon valdez spill unqualified mate oil contamination pilot investigation environmental conservation coast guard regulations separate accidents cleanup efforts federal disaster
abstractive_keyphrases: exxon shipping co. long beach-bound tanker