Since it sunk off Spain, the Prestige tanker has continued to leak oil, with disastrous results for the environment, writes Jane Walker
Just over nine months ago, one of the worst-ever oil disasters hit the north west Spanish coast. The accident happened when the aging Panamanian-registered tanker, the Prestige, sprang a leak as she was sailing off the Costa da Morte (Death Coast) near Cape Finisterre.
When the Prestige began to spew oil, the Spanish authorities took a controversial decision, one which the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has described as "negligent". They ordered that she should be towed out into the Atlantic and away from the coast. After a six-day journey, the Prestige broke in half and sank 3,500 metres to the seabed, 140 nautical miles off the coast.
The Spanish government has been accused of negligence in a New York court by the ABS, and Spain has brought a counter-suit against ABS, with a claim for damages of $700 million. Spain alleges that the bureau should not have issued a certificate of seaworthiness for the Prestige - it only had a single hull when current legislation requires all large tankers to be constructed with double hulls.
"It is obvious that the ship was in poor condition," said Mr Rodolfo Martin Villa, the head of the special commission set up to oversee the Prestige disaster.
The government has been criticised for underestimating the scale of the disaster, and delaying the clean-up operation. Nine months later, oil-slicks are still contaminating the rocks and beaches of Galicia, Asturias and the Basque Country - even reaching into France - forcing the withdrawal of dozens of the coveted Blue Flag awards for clean beaches.
A report issued this week estimates that the damage from the Prestige disaster, including the clean-up operation and loss of livelihood of more than 30,000 people, could reach €2,472 million. This is almost double the Exxon Valdez spill, previously the most damaging tanker disaster.
The Prestige wreck remains a timebomb for the seabed and the environment. Many of the cracks have been sealed using a remote-controlled mini-submarine. Plans are underfoot to experiment with a revolutionary scheme to lower inflatable balloons to pump out the fuel and bring it to the surface. If this fails, they could enclose the wreckage in a thick coat of concrete to prevent further leaks in the future.
However, because of adverse tides and weather conditions, neither method can be used until next spring at the earliest, and the damage continues .