The ocean washes over the deck of the fully loaded Arco Anchorage during a moderate storm with 16-foot seas as it makes its way south through the Gulf of Alaska to Puget Sound.

A six-part Seattle Times special report
Crude deliveries push safety to the limit

Stories by Eric Nalder
Photographs by Craig Fujii

Every 14 hours on the average, an oil tanker cruises into Washington state's waters.

Most are laden with Alaskan crude oil, a toxic, viscous substance that can be as lethal to the environment as it is crucial to the economy.

It is the job of a tanker and its crew to make sure the oil remains a resource and not a destroyer.

Sometimes, they fail.