The Prestige oil spill has already coated 900 kilometres of Spain's northern coast in a thick oil sludge.
Approximately 9,000 tonnes have already leaked from the sunken ship which continues to leak as much as 125 tonnes of oil a day through a number of holes in the hull. The head of the scientific committee monitoring the Prestige says the ship will continue to leak for at least another five months up to four years before it is empty.
The spill has devastated wildlife in the region and the fishing industry along the northern coast has been closed because of the
Approximately 9,000 tonnes have already leaked from the sunken ship which continues to leak as much as 125 tonnes of oil a day through a number of holes in the hull. The head of the scientific committee monitoring the Prestige says the ship will continue to leak for at least another five months up to four years before it is empty.
The spill has devastated wildlife in the region and the fishing industry along the northern coast has been closed because of the
pollution. And oil continues to wash up on the shores everyday.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar says they've made every effort humanly possible to confront a tragedy and a catastrophe they've never known in Spain. He says it was a tragedy no country could ever be prepared for.
But is this true?
It isn't the first devastating oil spill. Not long ago the Erika spilled more than 10 million litres of oil when it broke in two during rough weather off the north-west coast of France in 1999.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar says they've made every effort humanly possible to confront a tragedy and a catastrophe they've never known in Spain. He says it was a tragedy no country could ever be prepared for.
But is this true?
It isn't the first devastating oil spill. Not long ago the Erika spilled more than 10 million litres of oil when it broke in two during rough weather off the north-west coast of France in 1999.
The European Union responded to the Erika crisis adopting rules inadequate to prevent another accident, and they have never even been fully implemented.
But when the Prestige started leaking oil not far from the Spanish coast, Smit, the international salvage company towing the Prestige, asked to bring the tanker into a harbour which would have made recovery operations easier. President Aznar said no take it out to sea, where it broke up and now lies 3600 metres deep leaking.
But when the Prestige started leaking oil not far from the Spanish coast, Smit, the international salvage company towing the Prestige, asked to bring the tanker into a harbour which would have made recovery operations easier. President Aznar said no take it out to sea, where it broke up and now lies 3600 metres deep leaking.