New tanker oil slick threatens Spain's coast

2.25pm

ARTEIXO, SPAIN - Howling gales have blown a new oil slick from the sunken tanker Prestige towards pristine river estuaries on Spain's northwest coast, where hundreds of kilometres of beaches have already been polluted.

Spain has put a price tag of at least 42 million euros ($85.6 million) on the cost of rehabilitating 90 oil-tainted beaches that will take about six months to clean up in the wake of what could become one of the world's worst oil spills.

A day after the 26-year-old, Bahamas-flagged Prestige snapped in two and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic, winds of more than 110km/h menaced the shores of the Galicia region with a second stinking, toxic oil slick.

The tanker took an estimated 60,000 tonnes of viscous fuel oil to the sea floor some 130 nautical miles off the coast, where the ocean is about 3.6km deep. Its total cargo of 77,000 tonnes aboard was twice the amount that gushed from the Exxon Valdez, which ran aground in Alaska in 1989 to set a benchmark for oil spills.

"This is a disaster," said Spain's Environment Minister Jaume Matas, tip-toeing across oil-soaked Barranan Beach where sailors in overalls shovelled black goo, looking like a road crew paving a new highway.

Hard hit were some of the creeks and marshes, where oil penetrated far enough inland to coat grasses and wooden fence posts with what appeared like a fresh coat of black paint.

And more of the oil, whose petrol-like stench sticks to clothes and fills the air along the coast, was on the way.

Authorities said the second wave of oil was 3.2km from the town of Muros, at the most northerly of Galicia's Rias Bajas, or Low Estuaries. Local legend has it that the estuaries were formed by God's enormous hand print, and their secluded coves and misty valleys are a sanctuary for tourists.

The estuaries are also the heartland of Galicia's mussel farming, part of a fishing industry worth over 300 million euros for the local economy.

While Spain talked of seeking damages from the ship's insurer, the Greek shipping company that operated it, its Liberian-registered owner and Greek captain who is being held in a Spanish jail, local people took matters into their own hands.

A thousand fishermen formed a barrier across one river valley with their boats in an attempt to keep out the sludge.

"If a new slick enters the estuary, with large quantities of gooey fuel oil, it would be a catastrophe," said Jose Ramon Lado, vice-president of Muro's mussel farming association.

Aside from the slick menacing Muros, officials said two more were 65km away and four had formed where the Prestige went down, some 210km out to sea.

In the wake of the disaster, a political storm has broken out over why single-hulled such as the Prestige, lacking modern double hulls, are still allowed to ply Europe's waters.

French President Jacques Chirac, one of the most vocal critics, told ministers the situation in Spain was so serious that it was imperative the European Union, and France itself, speed up implementation of the extra safety measures agreed after the Maltese tanker Erika split in two off France in 1999.

Single-hulled tankers like the Prestige have been outlawed after a history of pollution incidents -- but the ban will take effect only in 2015.

Some experts hope the toxic mass in the tanks of the Prestige will harden due to frigid temperatures and high pressure on the ocean floor. But others called that optimistic, saying much of the oil potentially could resurface.

Authorities have banned fishing along 100km of coastline for at least a month. But fishermen said they expected longer term effects for the goose barnacle, a delicacy known in Spanish as percebes.

The area is also famous for its high-quality lobster, mussels, octopus, crab and shrimp.

In Brussels, the European Commission said on Wednesday it would provide 117.7 million euros of aid to Spanish fishermen to help cover losses. Local authorities already promised 30 euros per day for fishermen while they are out of work.

"The EU won't let them down," Farm and Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler said in a statement.

Portuguese environmentalists criticised Spain for towing the stricken tanker for several days before it sank to a spot that put its spilt oil on a wind-aided course toward Portuguese shores as well.

"If the black tide hits the coast here it will cause an ecological disaster of unimaginable proportions," said Luis Macedo, head of Portugal's Esposende nature reserve.

The reserve at the mouth of the Cavado River is home to more than 100 species of migratory birds and a key fishing area.

Although no oil has washed up on neighbouring Portugal's hundreds of kilometres of beaches, the first sign of the damage came on Wednesday when scientists reported finding a few sea birds covered with oil on the northern coast.

Sharply criticising the Spanish government, Francisco Louca, head of the tiny Left Bloc party, said Madrid should pay for any damages to Portugal from the Prestige.

"The Portuguese government should demand from the Spanish government compensation for all the damages to the environment and the Portuguese economy," he said in parliament.

- REUTERS

Herald feature: Environment