ANCHORAGE, AK -- July 30, 1996 -- Alyeska Pipeline Service Company reported today that a small fire occurred Saturday morning during welding work on an out-of-service tanker berth at the Valdez Marine Terminal. The fire was caused by a hot spark falling to a lower level of scaffolding and igniting a plastic basin and sorbent pads. The fire was extinguished by the designated fire watch personnel with a hand held fire extinguisher kept on-site. The welding is part of construction work on the Tanker Vapor Recovery Project which is designed to recover hydrocarbon vapors released into the atmosphere during tanker loading.

The Joint Pipeline Office and U.S. Coast Guard have been notified of the incident.