Valdez, Alaska 7/26/1997 Is Furthest North Ice-Free Port

(VALDEZ, ALASKA, Saturday, July 26, 1997)

by Bob Van Leer

Finally today the sun came out. We are considerably west now of the rainy Alaska panhandle.

We docked in Valdez this morning, the southern terminus of the 800-mile long Alyeska oil pipeline.

Valdez is the northernmost ice-free port in Alaska, which accounts for its selection as the pipeline terminus. About a fourth of the domestic U.S. oil production goes through this 48 inch diameter pipe.

The mountains around Valdez are treeless and rugged. They contain several glaciers that do not reach down to the sea.

PIPELINE TOUR
I went on a tour of the pipeline terminal which started with a trip to the local airport to be run through metal detectors. Security is high at the terminal. Our guide said there have been no incidents here but near Fairbanks in 1978 a bomb blew a small hole in the pipeline. At the terminal, which sprawls over a large area, not even workers are allowed to walk around the terminal. Everyone is moved by vehicle.

She said the oil starts at about 150 degrees temperature at Prudhoe Bay. After the six day trip through the insulated pipeline it drops only 20 degrees when it arrives at Valdez. The hot oil comes from wells drilled 9000 feet deep.

About 1.3 million barrels per day come to Valdez, down from the peak of ten years ago. Depending on what additional oil is found on the north slope, she said the pipeline could be in use another 39 years.

The pipeline was started in 1974 and completed in 1977.

There were three tankers in port when we visited, one leaving and three filling. The largest was 800 feet long and Kathy said they go up to 1100 feet long. She said about 50 ships per month call and most of the oil goes to Washington and California.

The terminal has elaborate systems to contain any spills. A system is set up to clean ballast water from ships before it is returned to the ocean. Two tugs escort each tanker through Prince William Sound to the Gulf of Alaska after the Exxon Valdez spill.

She said Valdez has a permanent population of about 4700. The town was wiped out by an earthquake in 1964 and the whole town was rebuilt five miles away on bedrock. The population of the whole state is about 600,000.

COLLEGE FJORD
After leaving Valdez we made one more glacier viewing trip. Our ship sailed into College Fjord, about 25 miles long and three miles wide which contains six calving tidewater glaciers. The fjord and glaciers were named in 1899 and reflect the names of colleges with which members of the Harriman expedition had affiliations, such as Harvard and Yale.

Today is our last full day on this cruise and we will be making preparations for disembarking tomorrow.

After the cruise, the next part of the trip is a ride on the Alaska Railroad to Fairbanks with a stop at Denali Park.