Alaska's Prince William Sound reopens to outbound tankers

Houston (Platts)--20Jan2004

A stretch of Alaska's Prince William Sound, which links the Valdez oil loading terminal with the Gulf of Alaska and points beyond, has been reopened to outbound tankers after high seas caused its closure for several hours late Monday into Tuesday, the US Coast Guard said.

The area around Gate Hinchinbrook, where Prince William Sound opens into the Gulf of Alaska, was shut to laden tankers at 11:23 p.m. local time Monday night (0823 GMT) and reopened at 8:15 a.m. (1715 GMT) Tuesday, a spokesman at the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office in Valdez said. He said no further weather-related closures are immediately expected and that there are no shipping delays due to the recent shutdown.

The closure at Gate Hinchinbrook followed a shutdown from Jan 14-18 at the Valdez terminal due to high wind and waves, according to a spokesman for terminal and Trans-Alaska Pipeline operator Alyeska.