LONG BEACH, Calif. — In a surprise move, Joseph Hazelwood pleaded no contest Wednesday to two U.S. Coast Guard charges against him as part of an apparent settlement that would cost the skipper of the Exxon Valdez his captain’s license for 12 months.

In return for the no contest pleas, the Coast Guard dismissed the more serious charges of intoxication and misconduct against him.

Hazelwood, whose license was seized after the Valdez accident last March, could see his license again in even less than a year. He was given the right to petition Administrative Law Judge Harry J. Gardner for three months’ credit, which would reduce his suspension to nine months.

Michael Chalos, a New York attorney defending Hazelwood, told the administrative law judge, “Your honor, I submit to you he (Hazelwood) has suffered enough. He wants to do what he knows best. He wants to be a ship’s captain. He wants to go back to sea.”

Hazelwood was captain of the tanker Exxon Valdez when it ran aground in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, spilling 11 million gallons of oil, the worst oil spill in the nation’s history.

The announcement of the settlement that had been reached between Hazelwood’s attorneys and Coast Guard investigating officers caught the courtroom by surprise when Hazelwood’s hearing began Wednesday morning.

Chalos told the Coast Guard hearing that his client was pleading “no contest” to two charges: a charge of misconduct for consuming alcohol within four hours of the departure of the Exxon Valdez from port, and a charge of negligence for departing from the vessel’s bridge, as it was leaving Prince William Sound.

The Coast Guard dismissed a charge that Hazelwood was drunk by Coast Guard standards while he commanded the 987-foot tanker. It also dismissed a charge that Hazelwood was negligent in leaving a third mate who was not properly licensed in charge of the Exxon Valdez as it passed through the Valdez Narrows into Prince William Sound.

After the plea, the hearing continued before Gardner, who will decide any sanctions.

The judge could dismiss the charges, revoke Hazelwood’s license or place him on probation, but no fine or prison term can be levied.