The Prestige oil tanker sank off the Galician coast, Spain, carrying 77,000 tonness of fuel oil in 2002. The spill polluted thousands of kilometers of coastline and more than one thousand beaches on the Spanish, French and Portuguese coast, causing one of the biggest environmental disaster in Europe’s history.
The Prestige was Greek-operated, officially registered in the Bahamas, but with a Liberian-registered corporation listed as its owner. It was insured in Britain, and was registered as part of a Swiss fleet that has its headquarters in London, while the captain was Greek.
Captions. Photo source: ©© Stéphane M. Grueso
Excerpts;
The study analyzes the actions adopted by a dozen countries after suffering disasters similar to that of the Prestige, the oil tanker which sank off the coast of Galicia towards the end of 2002, provoking a spill of fuel-oil which turned out to be one of the biggest ecological disasters in the history of Spain…
Read Full Article, Science Daily
The BP Spill: Learning from Spain’s 2002 Disaster, Time
In Muxía, they say black stains still occasionally emerge on the white sands of the local beach. But otherwise, nearly eight years after the Prestige tanker broke apart off the coast of this town in northwestern Spain, spilling 66,000 tons of oil, there are few visible signs of damage. The WWF warns that since the worst effects of contamination are cumulative, it is too soon to judge the Prestige’s environmental impact.
A Seeping Tanker Turns Spain’s Beaches Into an Oily Sandbox, The New York Times
