SPAIN: VESSELS CLEANING UP OIL SLICK FROM STRICKEN TANKER PRESTIVE HELD IN PORT BY FIERCE GALES

Record ID: 345002

  • Title: SPAIN: VESSELS CLEANING UP OIL SLICK FROM STRICKEN TANKER PRESTIVE HELD IN PORT BY FIERCE GALES
  • Date: 23rd November 2002
  • Summary: (W4) LA CORUNA, SPAIN, NOVEMBER 22, 2002) (REUTERS) 1. LV PLAYA DE LA LAGOA; SEVERAL OF OIL SLICK FLOATING ON WATER AS IT APPROACHES BEACH; CONTAMINATED SURF WAVES; MV MAN LOOKING OUT TO SEA; HAS SLICK ON WAVES (13 SHOTS) 1.15 2. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LOCAL RESIDENT CARLOS SAYING "Government is pulling our legs, they are not telling us the truth. This is a disaster, it won't end quickly. The whole region will be covered by oil." 1.38 3. SLV SEABIRDS HALF-COVERED BY OIL AND TRYING TO GET CLEAN; SLV ONLOOKERS; SLV SEA BIRDS; SLV ONLOOKERS (8 SHOTS) 2.19 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL CO-ORDINATOR SEBASTIAN LOSADA SAYING "For us it is a real catastrophe, we haven't learnt anything from the accidents that we had ten years ago and twenty years ago. This is the fifth accident in 30 years. And we haven't learnt anything. The government was not prepared for this, we don't have means, lack of co-ordination is evident and this is something that should not happen again." 2.41 5. AV HELICOPTER; SLV POLLUTED BEACH; AV HELICOPTER MONITORING OIL SLICK; POLLUTED WAVE SURF (3 SHOTS) 3.00 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 8th December 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LA CORUNA, SPAIN
  • Country: Spain
  • Reuters ID: LVAY40L1XM4ZPLE6EBGNOUUIYF4
  • Story Text: Fierce gales and huge waves have kept clean-up vessels
    in port as another oil slick from the sunken tanker Prestige
    menaced Spain's northwest coast, already polluted by hundreds
    of tonnes of toxic fuel oil.

    Three days after the 26-year-old Prestige snapped in
    two and sank with more than 60,000 tonnes of fuel onboard,
    stormy weather dogged efforts to contain at least 10,000
    tonnes of fuel oil already spilled by the single-hulled vessel
    after it first ran into problems more than a week ago, and 20
    years ago. This is the fifth.

    Residents expressed a growing sense of anger as
    oil-covered kelp and flotsam littered the beaches.

    "Government is pulling our legs, they are not telling us
    the truth. This is a disaster, it won't end quickly. The whole
    region will be covered by oil," said local Carlos.

    A cold front coming off the Atlantic have pushed seven
    known oil slicks closer to the coast, with one arriving at the
    port city of La Coruna. It also created havoc for other ships
    in the area, hit by a heavy gale.

    It could prove to be one of the world's worst oil spills as
    the ship carried twice as much oil as the Exxon Valdez spilled
    when it ran aground in Alaska in 1989.

    It was the second major disaster in three years involving
    a single-hulled tanker in European waters. Spanish Prime
    Minister Jose Maria Aznar wrote on Thursday (November 21) to
    European Commission President Romano Prodi asking for stricter
    application of maritime rules in the 15-nation bloc.

    Meanwhile, many local residents criticised a lack of
    resources and organisation in tackling the oil-slick which had
    already tainted some 300 km of scenic coast and threatened to
    bring disaster to Galicias economic lifeblood of fishing.

    Greenpeace's international co-ordinator Sebastian Losada said:
    "For us it is a real catastrophe. We haven't learnt
    anything from the accidents that we had ten years ago and
    twenty years ago. This is the fifth accident in 30 years. And
    we haven't learnt anything. The government was not prepared
    for this, we don't have means, lack of co-ordination is
    evident and this is something that should not happen again."
    Four specialised pollution-control vessels from Germany,
    France, Norway and Britain were on there way to the disaster
    zone, but force 6 winds meant three other ships already in the
    area were forced to remain in dock.


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