Valdez, Alaska The original town site was dismantled and abandoned. From 1975 to 1977, the Trans-Alaska pipeline was built to carry oil from the Prudhoe Bay oil fields in northern Alaska to a terminal in Valdez, the nearest ice-free port. Oil is loaded onto tanker ships for transport. The construction and operation of the pipeline and terminal boosted the economy of Valdez. The 1989 "Exxon Valdez" oil spill occurred as the oil tanker "Exxon Valdez" was leaving the terminal at Valdez full of oil. The spill occurred at Bligh Reef, about from Valdez. Although the oil did not reach Valdez, it devastated
VLCC Metula oil spill VLCC Metula oil spill The VLCC "Metula" was a supertanker that was involved in an oil spill in Tierra del Fuego, Chile in 1974. The ship was a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), with a length of 1,067 feet, draft of 62 feet and a deadweight ton capacity of 206,000. It was the first VLCC supertanker to be involved in a major oil spill. The "Metula" was sailing from Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia with a load of over 196,000 tons of light Arabian crude oil destined for delivery to the Chilean National Oil Company (ENAP) at Quintero, Chile. On