Updated 1:53 AM ET May 23, 2000 ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - An oil tanker owned by Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) subsidiary SeaRiver Maritime was ordered back to Valdez on Monday after developing a leak, the operator of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline said. The SeaRiver Long Beach was about 10 minutes into its journey from the Valdez marine terminal on Monday morning when crew members from an escort vessel spotted an oil sheen in its wake, said Alyeska Pipeline Service Co.

The U.S. Coast Guard ordered the tanker back to the terminal, where it was surrounded with boom and examined, Alyeska said.

"It has been inspected. Divers have gone down," said Alyeska spokeswoman Sandy McClintock. "What they found is a three-inch hairline fracture in the No. 3 center cargo tank."

Only one to 10 gallons of oil has leaked through the crack, McClintock said.

"It's a very light sheen. It's not even recoverable, it's so light," she said.

The oil from the Long Beach was being loaded into another oil tanker late on Monday, she said.

The Marine Columbia, operated by the Alaska Tanker Co. for BP Amoco (BPA.L), was set to take the cargo to Puget Sound, she said.

The cause of the crack was unknown, McClintock said.

A nearby salmon hatchery was sealed with protective boom, and officials were prepared to do the same for the Valdez duck flats if necessary, Alyeska said.

Alyeska is the consortium that operates the 800-mile trans-Alaska oil pipeline and its Valdez marine terminal. Major owners are BP Amoco, Exxon Mobil and Phillips Petroleum (P.N).

http://news.excite.com/news/r/000523/01/news-energy-tanker

-- Doris (number9@mindspring.com), May 23, 2000