| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 21.11.02 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 21/11/2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The oil spill from the 'Prestige' tanker that is engulfing Spain's north-western coast and threatening the area's fishing industry has sparked a debate across Europe about whether the European Union is doing enough to prevent such ecological disasters happening on its shores. The oil tanker, which is owned by Liberians owners, administered by Greeks and registered in the Bahamas, entered into difficulty on 14 November 2002 as it encountered stormy conditions on its journey through Spanish waters from Latvia to Gibraltar. The crew workers were rescued as the tanker began to leak oil. Within two days more than 1500 tons of oil had spilled from the tanker and oil slicks were wreaking damage on the Spanish Galician coast. Despite efforts to limit the ecological disaster by towing the Prestige 150 miles offshore and erecting barriers to contain the oil slick, salvage crews were hampered by bad weather and on 19 November 2002 the vessel broke in two, taking an estimated 70,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil to the ocean depths. Whilst the Spanish coast has experienced the worst damage so far with more than 50 miles of Galician coastline now covered in oil, the changing weather conditions mean that the Portugese coast could become the most vulnerable. It is not yet known how much of the remaining cargo on board the tanker when it sunk will seep out into the ocean or whether the low temperature underwater will solidify the cargo. If the entire load is leaked into the ocean, then it would mean an ecological disaster worse than that experienced in Alaska in 1989 when the Exxon Valdez ran aground shedding its 38,800 tons of cargo. But the ecological disaster is not the only problem, the threat to the area's economy is just as worrying with both the fishing and tourism industries likely to suffer. Whilst the tourism industry can be grateful that the disaster happened during its off-peak season and can hope that the local beauty spots will have been restored to somewhere near their former glory by the Summer, the picture for local fishermen is much bleaker. A fishing ban has been imposed along the 100km stretch of coastline from Roncudo to Cape Tourinan for at least one month but there are widespread fears that it will be difficult to sell produce from the area for much longer after that. Greenpeace has warned that any oil that settles on the ocean floor will pose a long term threat to fish, corals and other marine life. About 25,000 fishermen are employed in the Galician region - half of the Spanish fleet - and a further 13,000 people work in the area's aquaculture industry sustained by the world's largest mussel growing region. Thousands more jobs in the fish processing and distribution sectors are also at risk. The isolated position of the Galician region with poor communication links with the rest of the country mean that the local economy is heavily reliant on the sea and the chance of fishermen finding other work is slim. The European Union, which already gives over half of its annual fishing aid to Spain, has promised further help to the local fishermen. On 20 November 2002, the European Commissioner responsible for fisheries, Franz Fischler said:
Under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance the EU will co-fund measures to support fishermen who have to temporarily cease their activities for biological or ecological reasons at a rate of 75% in the areas affected in Spain with the country itself financing the remaining 25%. Spain has earmarked €117.7 million for this purpose and those funds will be used to provide financial support to affected fish and shellfish farmers for the cleaning or replacement of damaged equipment, the temporary cessation of vessels or even small scale coastal fishing. If this amount proves not to be sufficient then the European Commission has said that Spain can disburse additional FIFG money following a re-programming. In addition, the new European Solidarity Fund for catastrophes may also be used but only after the 'polluter pays' principle has been applied. Spain is hoping that European Union funds will be able to pay Galician fishermen €30 a day whilst they are unable to work. Yet despite these pledges of help the European Union has come under serious attack for failing to do enough to prevent the disaster happening in the first place. After the 25 year-old single-hull oil tanker, the Erika, broke in two off the southern tip of Brittany on 12 December 1999, polluting almost 400 kilometres of French coastline the EU recognised the need to reinforce and harmonise European rules on maritime safety and the control of ships in ports. A series of proposals, known as the Erika I package, were duly adopted by the European Commission on 21 March 2002. The aim of these proposals was to immediately tackle certain shortcomings highlighted by the Erika accident by stepping up controls in ports, monitoring the activities of classification societies and speeding up the timetable for eliminating single-hull tankers. A second set of measures - Erika II - were adopted by the European Commission in December 2000. These aim to bring about a lasting improvement in the protection of European waters against the risk of accidents at sea and marine pollution through a new Directive and two new Regulations. However the stricter inspection controls provided for in Erika I do not enter into force until the end of 2003 and whilst certain Erika II measures such as the setting up of a European Maritime Safety Agency have been adopted they have yet to be implemented. A further agreement between European governments in 2000 gives countries until 2015 to phase out single hull tankers in favour of safer double hulled vessels. Moreover, a political row is brewing between Britain and Spain with the latter suggesting that the British government is responsible for the disaster because the British colony of Gibraltar failed to comply with EU directives on inspecting maritime vessels. However the UK government has disputed this claim, saying that their records show that the Prestige had only stopped once at Gibraltar in the last five years and that was only to fuel and the vessel did not even enter port. The new EU rules on environmental liability will also come into play although it is still unclear who will bear the costs for the clean-up of the spilled oil. Just as the Erika disaster spurred the EU into action so is the Prestige disaster likely to have a similar effect. The European Commissioner for Transport, Loyola de Palacio - a Spaniard - has already written to EU governments to remind them of their obligations towards maritime safety in the aftermath of the disaster. Ironically the European Commission issued a memo on the day the disaster enfolded in which it stated that following the Erika disaster the 'European Union is at the forefront of maritime safety' and that 'floating rust buckets should disappear from Europe's waters within two years'. It also noted that 'an accident such as the one involving the Erika can happen at any time' but that 'the Commission's proposal offers a solution which can rapidly be put in place and will guarantee that victims are fully and promptly compensated'. The Prestige disaster will surely test the EU's effectiveness in dealing with maritime safety.
Helen Bower The European Union is being called upon to do more to prevent ecologial disasters caused by oil tankers following the oil spill from the Prestige tanker in the waters off the coast of Northern Spain in November 2002. |
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| Subject Categories | Mobility and Transport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
