Posted on 21-11-2002

Tanker Disaster One Of Many
by Alan Marston

The breakup of a leaking tanker off Spain may herald one of the world's
worst oil spills, but experts say its distance from the coast and the
water conditions may reduce ecological devastation. But that's not the
point. The point is that these supertankers were designed and built in the
1970's in order to cut costs, Nature has been paying ever since and will
continue to do so as at least 7 of these superboats sink every year.
The point of difference with this sinking is if the Prestige looses all
its 77,000 tonnes of fuel oil, it will rank 14th in world tanker spills, a
list topped by the Atlantic Empress off Tobago in 1979 with 287,000 tonnes
of oil. It would be just ahead of the 74,000 tonnes of oil lost by the
Aegean Sea, which sank in 1992, also off northwest Spain. "It's already a
huge disaster - thousands of fishermen are out of work, oil is coming onto
beaches. This will also be one of the worst in terms of its impact," said
Sian Pullen, head of the European Marine Programme at the World Wildlife
Fund (WWF).
All we will hear now will be soothing tones like bacteria in the sea could
help disperse the oil more quickly than, for instance, in the chillier
waters of Alaska, where the Exxon Valdez ran aground in 1989, or the Erika
disaster off northern France in December 1999. And the distance from land
could help because the high seas will break up oil slicks before they
reach beaches. And the type of oil in the Prestige could also reduce the
impact of the spill. Experts said the fuel oil was of a lighter type than
in the Erika, which spilled about 22,000 tonnes, and more refined than the
crude in the Exxon Valdez, which lost 34,000 tonnes. Or not so soothing,
the tanks on the Prestige would implode from the pressure if both parts of
the vessel sink in waters 3600 metres deep. If the tanks survive the
sinking, oil would leak through the rusting metal in coming decades.
Marine life would be more able to adapt to such a slow-fuse timebomb than
to a catastrophic spill. The depth of the water would make salvage
impractical.
The harsh reality is that the global economy stage of industialism floats
on a sea of oil and and is directed by an army of bottom-line accountants,
a combination that is deadly to life. "These types of spill are happening
because of our continued reliance on fossil fuels," Greenpeace's Santillo
said. Greenpeace wants far more stress on renewable energy and cuts in the
use of fuels like oil and gas, blamed for global warming. Cheap, ageing
tankers will remain a pollution threat to European waters until new laws
take effect 13 years from now. Even as Spain struggles to contain the
Prestige spill, dealers are planning similar shipments that make money by
chartering old tankers at cheap freight rates. Not until 2015 will Europe
outlaw single-hulled oil tankers like the Prestige. Double-hulled vessels
are less prone to spills. The long delay is defended by the shipping
industry as a viable investment timescale, but bemoaned by
environmentalists as too slow. "There are hundreds of older vessels in
the world fleet that are simply ticking time bombs. The fact is, they
shouldn't be allowed to carry toxic cargoes, never mind pass anywhere near
pristine coastlines," said one European salvage expert.
The Prestige is Liberian-owned, registered in the Bahamas, operated by a
Greek company, chartered by a Swiss-based subsidiary of a Russian
conglomerate and classed as seaworthy by an American shipping authority.
Sigh.
.