Exxon Valdez Oil Tanker to be Sold in Pieces

The ship responsible for the second-largest oil spill in U.S. waters behind BP’s (NYSE:BP) Deepwater Horizon, is being sold to a company in China that will most likely rip it apart and sell it in pieces.

Exxon Valdez, the tanker that ran aground in March 1989 near Alaska spilling millions of gallons of oil in Price William Sound and killing tens of thousands of animals, was bought by Best Oasis, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The disaster was the worst oil spill in U.S. history at the time, causing Exxon (NYSE:XOM) to pay billions of dollars in damages.

The Hong Kong-based company, which is a subsidiary of India’s Priya Blue Industries, confirmed the purchase but would not disclose the price or purpose of the purchase. However, it is known for buying ships, taking them apart, and either reusing or selling the scraps of metal.

The ship is 26 years old and has been damaged over the years. Its hull was split open after it ran into a reef near Alaska and it later had a collision in the South China Sea.

Having swapped names and owners several times since the environmental catastrophe, the tanker is now known as Oriental Nicety.