ENVIRONMENT-SPAIN: Another Oil Disaster at Sea

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Alicia Fraerman

MADRID, Jan 21 2003 (IPS) - An oil tanker sank Tuesday in the Mediterranean Sea just off the southern coast of Spain, reviving already energetic demands for stricter regulation of fuel transport and, say activists, serving as an example of the grave danger that single-hulled ships pose for the marine environment.

The Spabunker IV sank in the bay of Algeciras, near the British enclave of Gibraltar, just two months after the huge environmental catastrophe caused by the 77,000 tons of oil leaked from the tanker Prestige off Spain’s northwest Atlantic coast.

The Spabunker IV went down with 900 tons of fuel and 100 tons of diesel, immediately producing a slick of 90 tons of fuel covering at least a square km near the Algeciras port.

The bay is home to the docks of the CEPSA oil refinery – one of the two largest in the country – operator of the tanker and owner of the oil it was transporting.

Spain’s vice-president and government spokesman Mariano Rajoy said that a fuel leak had been verified in the sunken tanker, but it was not yet determined whether it came from the hold or from the engine of the Spabunker IV.

Rajoy told the media Tuesday that the initial response to the report of the foundering ship was to rescue the three members of the crew. Two men were rescued, but the Spabunker’s captain drowned.

The accident occurred the day after the environmental watchdog organisation Greenpeace carried out a protest nearby against the use of single-hulled vessels for transporting toxic substances.

Greenpeace activists were detained after boarding the Vemamagna and hanging banners reading "Oil Hazard" and "Dangerous Tanker".

The Gibraltar police also arrested 14 journalists who were covering the protest. The reporters were released after the Spanish Foreign Ministry issued a strongly word demand in their defence. The activists were released Tuesday after paying a fine but will likely have to appear before a judge.

The Spabunker IV belongs to the Spanish group Boluda, which owns oil tankers, tug boats, docks and sea terminals that also serve for air transport.

The government announced it would take steps to recover the oil still in the ship’s hold, but has yet to explain how it will do so. The tanker sits on the sea floor at a depth of 50 m.

"Unless dramatic changes are made in the way fossil fuels are transported, another catastrophe like that of the Prestige could happen at any moment," Juan López de Uralde, director of Greenpeace-Spain, told IPS.

The autonomous community of Galicia is still reeling from the ecological and economic losses caused by the Nov 19 sinking of the Prestige. The oil that escaped from the 26-year-old single-hulled tanker has spread to the French and Portuguese coasts.

Every year, 20 million tons of petroleum-based products are shipped through Algeciras bay, and spills are continually occurring due to lack of adequate controls, said López de Uralde.

After confirming the existence of the first oil slicks, Algeciras mayor Patricio González said, "We have spent three years denouncing the many spills that occur here. Last summer they were happening almost daily."

As a result of the Prestige disaster, Spain banned the entry of single-hulled tankers carrying heavy fuel in its territorial waters and convinced the European Union (EU) to take a similar step, approved Dec 6 by the bloc’s Council of Transportation Ministers.

But heavy fuel represents just seven percent of the total fuel shipped, said López de Uralde.

Greenpeace is demanding "an urgent and total ban on single-hull tankers and the establishment of a new regime of unlimited responsibility" for the petroleum industry.

The environmental group is also calling for a ban on the shipment of any dangerous substances in single-hulled ships and for Algeciras and Gibraltar to set up a special monitoring system that includes tighter controls and heavier penalties for non- compliance.

According to sources at Spain’s Maritime Secretariat, strong winds overnight might have turned over the tanker as it transported fuel to another vessel anchored in the bay.

Clean-up efforts were launched Tuesday to contain the oil slick and prevent it from reaching the coast, while other boats are on their way from the coast of Galicia, where they had been sent to work on cleaning up the massive Prestige spill.