FIRST - Tanker to carry crude oil from the Alaska Pipeline, Fairbanks AK USA
N 64° 55.781 W 147° 37.771
6W E 470236 N 7200766
On 1 August 1977 the ARCO Juneau became the first oil tanker to load crude oil from the Alaska pipeline
Waymark Code: WM1733M
Location: Alaska, United States
Date Posted: 11/29/2022
Views: 3
A very tall multi paneled sign near the short trail to the Alyeska pipeline viewing point relates a number of significant milestones and interesting facts about this engineering achievement that opened the Arctic Prudhoe Bay oilfields for exploration and fundamentally changed the economy of Alaska.
The relevant portion of the sign reads as follows:
"PIPELINE FACTS
[Map of the Alyeska Pipeline and Pump Stations]
* Length: 800 miles
* Diameter: 48 inches
* Crosses three mountain ranges and more than 500 rivers and streams
* Cost to build: $8 billion in 1977, the largest privately funded construction project at that time
* Construction began March 27, 1975 and was completed May 31, 1977
* First oil moved through the pipeline June 20, 1977
* First tanker to carry crude oil from Valdez: ARCO Juneau, August 1, 1977"
More information on this historic first can be found at the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company website: (
visit link)
"On July 28, 1977, the first Alaska North Slope Crude Oil carried by TAPS arrived at the Valdez Marine Terminal, setting off a celebration that spanned Alaska and beyond. While that oil’s 800-mile journey in TAPS had ended, in a few days another 1,300-mile trip was about to begin. This is the story of the ARCO Juneau, the first tanker to carry Alaska’s oil to market."
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