Disaster at Sea​—Tragedy on Land

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN SPAIN

AN ECOLOGICAL and economic disaster began on November 13, 2002, when in heavy seas the oil tanker Prestige developed a leak. Efforts to save the stricken ship failed, and after six days​—during which close to 20,000 tons of oil had leaked—​the tanker finally split in two and sank, some 130 miles [200 km] off the coast of Spain.

The tanker carried over 50,000 tons of oil down with it, and the hull continued leaking about 125 tons a day. New oil slicks formed and drifted inexorably toward the coast. The viscosity and toxic nature of the heavy fuel oil made its environmental impact especially tragic.

The fumes overcame a number of volunteers who tried to clean up the beaches. Furthermore, the fuel oil formed a heaving mass of tar that stuck to the rocks like black chewing gum. “It is one of the worst oil slicks of history,” lamented Michel Girin, director of the Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution.

Heroic Efforts

For weeks, hundreds of fishermen put out to sea to battle oil slicks that threatened their livelihood. The fishermen fought heroically to collect the oil before it blackened their beaches and ruined one of the richest fishing banks in the world. Some men lifted chunks of the greasy sludge out of the water by hand. “It was backbreaking work, but those of us in small boats had no other option,” explained Antonio, a local fisherman.

While the fishermen fought the oil at sea, thousands of volunteers from all over Spain worked to clean up the beaches. Dressed in disposable white coveralls and wearing masks, they looked as if they were engaged in biological warfare. But their task consisted of laboriously  shoveling the oil into buckets so that it could be carried away. Like the fishermen, some volunteers even used their hands to remove oil that had stained the beaches.

Tragic Effects

“I thought I would die of grief when I first saw the black waves hurling oil against the quay in Muxía,” said Rafael Mouzo, mayor of Corcubión in northern Galicia, where the coastline was devastated. “The oil spill has affected the livelihood of so many people in our town.”

Sadly, Spain’s beautiful new national park, Las Islas Atlánticas (Atlantic Islands), bore the brunt of one of the oil slicks. Huge colonies of seabirds nested in these five previously unspoiled islands off the coast of Galicia. The surrounding sea shelf was especially rich in marine species.

By the beginning of December, 95 percent of the park’s coastline had been contaminated with oil. Ornithologists calculated that some 100,000 birds would be affected. Divers even saw large lumps of solidified oil bobbing on the seabed and damaging the delicate marine ecosystem.

Jay Holcomb, who organized a bird rescue center, reported: “Usually, the birds die from either drowning or hypothermia. The oil impregnates the feathers, destroying their insulating and water-resistant properties. Furthermore, the heavy oil drags them down, just like sodden clothes can drag down a swimmer. . . . It is a source of great satisfaction to rescue some birds, even if the numbers are relatively few.”

‘An Accident Waiting to Happen’

The world depends on oil for energy, but to keep costs down, oil is often transported in dangerous, badly maintained vessels. Therefore, The New York Times described that situation as “an accident just waiting to happen.”

The Prestige is the third tanker to run aground off Galicia’s coast in the last 26 years. Some ten years ago, the Aegean Sea ran aground near La Coruña in northern Galicia and spilled 40,000 tons of crude oil, from which some stretches of nearby coastline have still not recovered. And in 1976 the Urquiola sank in the same estuary, unleashing a disastrous oil slick of over 100,000 tons.

In light of the latest disaster, the European Union has decided to ban all fuel-oil tankers that do not have a double hull. It remains to be seen, though, whether that measure will prove sufficient to protect Europe’s battered coastline.

Clearly, human governments have been unable to guarantee a world free from contamination​—whether it be oil slicks, toxic waste, or atmospheric pollution. Christians, however, look forward to the time when God’s Kingdom will oversee the conversion of our planet into a paradise that will never be polluted.​—Isaiah 11:1, 9; Revelation 11:18.

[Picture on page 20, 21]

The Prestige carried 50,000 tons of oil down with it

[Credit Line]

AFP PHOTO/DOUANE FRANCAISE