ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 6, 1990                   TAG: 9007060259
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: SAN DIEGO                                LENGTH: Short

EXXON VALDEZ TO GO BACK INTO SERVICE

The ship that caused the nation's worst oil spill when it ran aground in Alaskan waters last year will be returned to service later this summer, officials said Thursday.

Repair work on the Exxon Valdez is nearing completion, and Exxon Shipping Co. President Gus Elmer is expected to announce plans today for returning the supertanker to service.

A Coast Guard inspector, however, said the ship is scheduled to start a two-week trial run July 20 to test its systems and obtain certification as a seaworthy vessel.

The ship spilled almost 11 million gallons of crude oil when it struck a reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989, sullying hundreds of miles of coastline and killing scores of birds and animals. - Associated Press 


 by CNB