Tanker disaster "Prestige"

class OIIIb  click

1. Summary

On November 20th, 2002 the tanker "Prestige" broke in two and sank south-west of cape Finisterre (Galicia coast, Spain). The tanker was carrying 77000 tons of thick fuel oil and sent 11 million litres of oil towards the coast. The biggest oil slick was 130 km long, 9 km wide and 40 cm thick. The oil reached the coast of Spain, France and Portugal.

Reasons for the accident:

Especially the bad condition of the ship caused the accident. The "Prestige" had a lack of safety precautions. The ship was in a bad condition when it left Latvia. Another reason for the accident was the wrong behaviour of the captain and the crew. The crew on the tanker wasn`t ever trained and so they couldn`t act right when the accident happened. When the ship sailed along the coast of Galicia a heavy storm came up and made the "Prestige" incapable of manoevering.

Route:

The original route of the "Prestige", driving under the flag of the Bahamas, should go from Riga to Gibraltar therefor rescue tugs intended to tow the havarist and her load into a Spanish harbour. But the Spanish authorities disagreed with this.

Purifications:

Several helpers still try to clean the coast. The helping ships take measures at the sea with their special relief actions (provision of ships, workers to help and financial means). They build up oil barriers and try to control the situation from the air. Now they try to seal the leaks in the wreck. They also opened collection stations for oiled animals.

Consequences:

The most important consequences are dying fish and that´s why the fishermen lose their basis of their life. The coast will be polluted for the next 3 years. The tourists don`t want to come to the coast of Spain anymore. The consequences for the birds is a mass of deaths (about 50000 victims.) 33 bird species are affected by the oil and there is only a little chance to rescue them. The oil is very carcinogenic for every living creature and destroys important kinds of fish. The seabed will be polluted too and especially whales and dolphins are affected by the result of that accident. All in all there are serious changes in the food chain.

How the accident could have been prevented:

" double-walled ship hulls
" better controls/inspections in the EU-waters and ports
" higher safety standards
" immediate start of rescue actions to get the disaster under control