arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

The crippled tanker Prestige, transporting 77.000 metric tons (24.000 million gallons) of fuel-oil, was sailing six days under the spanish authorities guiadance after being informed of its situation at 130 miles from Fisterra with a 40 degrees inclination by a water inlet in the hull. Instead of carrying the broken ship to a safe seaport in order to transfer the fuel, they decided to move it away in the middle of a storm following an erratical route wich extended the spillage, aggravating its deterioration and causing the sinking of the tanker 3.5 km depth.

The ecological disaster

According to the official reports 14.000 tons remains to be extracted. This means a total sum of 63.000 tons of fuel wich is still arriving to more than 1.000 kilometers of a extraordinary landscape, flora and fauna richness with a lot of very high value ecological places like natural reserves or protected spaces with species in extinction danger.

Every ton of this spill -clasified as number 2, 6 or M-100 by the french, russian or anglosaxon terminologies respectively- contains 350 grammes of a carcinogenic compound formed by heavy metals joined to poli-cyclical aromatic hidrocarbons (PAH). The very high PAH persistance in the trophic chain lies in its low vulnerability under bacterium action. The bioregeneration tecniques are not effective in this case because the bio-degradation potencial of this compound becomes only a 15%.

Cetaceans and seabirds was the first victims of the fuel-oil spill, wich also caused the death of the german hermit who lived in Camelhe. The estatistical estimations with the reference of the Exxon Valdez (Alaska,1984: 38.800 oil tons) calculates between 300.000 and 650.000 the number of death seabirds. This numbers can be a measure of the effects in the the very dense population of fish, crustacean an shellfish among others wich generates the 84% of the galician enterprises invoicing. More than 1.500.000 people, wich represents the 50% of the total galician population, lives in the coast depending of this economical activity.

Considering the very strong relationship of this population with the affected ecosystems and bearing in mind the low biodegradation potencial of this compound once inside the trophic chain, is neccesary to talk about the worst ecological dissaster in history because oil spills (five spills in the last ten years). Its effects will remain along the next years with seriously consecuences in human health.

The social reponse

Polycommander, Urquiola, Erkowit, Andros Patria, Casón, Aegean Sea... Prestige. In an inexplicable manner the governement of the world's most affected country by spills did not have the preventive procedures to avoid a certainly previsible dissaster. The total lack of antipolluting resources forced the sailors and shellfishers to fight head-to-head with the oil slick from their own traditional boats and inventing artesanal tools to take up the fuel using only their own hands. The lack of coordination between both the statal and regional administrations was supplied by the seafarer auto-organization who managed the spontaneus movilitation of thousands of people comming to help in the seaboard cleanwork. While the population fights against the consecutive oil slicks, the authorities denied accepting the magnitude of the spill an its effects in the parliament and the mass media.

This situation caused the unanimous response of the galician society joining the biggest demonstration of its history, where the Never Again Manifesto was readed a couple of times under the rain and the umbrellas the 1 of december in 2002 at Santiago de Compostela, capital city of the galician country. This demonstration was called by a civic platform who received the inmediate membership of thousands of people and hundreds of asociations and agrupations inside an outside the country. This collective demands the starting of the mechanisms wich prevents this kind of catastrophes again, as the provision of the neccesary resources to repair the serious economical, social and environmental effects caused by the disaster at sea.

The presentation of a lawsuit against the technical and political responsibles identified a lot of relevant top officials of the spanish Partido Popular party. This political organization intensified the criminalization campaign against the civic platform using the democratic institutions wich progresively turns in censorship and repression practices while the arrival of fuel to the coastline was silenced in the mass media. This irresponsible and antidemocratic attitude was responded with the reading of the Dignity Manifesto in the front of near a million people who joined the demonstration at Madrid, capital city of the spanish state the 23 of february of 2003.

Six months after the sinking, the tanks still were a pollution focus wich caused the denegation of the blue flags because the presence of fuel waste at the turistical beaches. While the governement maintained the prohibition to shellfishing due the high toxicity of the analised samples, the spanish Partido Popular party blocked the callings at the galician parliament and the spanish congress to stablish the facts, to point the way to face the consecuences and avoid the repetition of this kind of tragedys again. This was the reason why the 14 of june of 2003 happens an international demonstration at Brussels where the Alliance Manifesto was readed denouncing that facts and asking for the creation of a investigation comission at the european Parliament, which at last was officialy proposed.

One year later

In the front of the galician coastline travels the 10% of the world shipping traffic and the 70% of the european petroleum. The technical breakdown of the Prestige becomes in a catastrophe only owing to the lack of coordination and the lack of prevision of the spanish authorities, who doesn't have available an emergencies plan or antipollution resources in the world's most affected country by oil spills.

One year later, the single-shield oil tankers and the flags of convenience are still sailing the Fisterra maritime corridor with total impunity.

One year later, the technical and political responsibles remain in its position.

One year later, we still have no Emergencie Plans that considers the actuation protocols wich allows the neutralization of different eventuallities.

One year later, the only Plan we have is an electoral promise with no economical fundations.

One year later, we still have no watchfull forces or rescue operations like enough powered tugs or shelter seaports for accidents.

One year later, we have no resources like antipolluting ships, retaining and absortion barriers, skimmers or store centers distributed along the coasline providing filtered masks, cleaning material, markers or floodlightings to allow the fast deployment of speciallized cleaning teams.

One year later, the Prestige disaster could be repeated in identical circumstances.

Therefore, a year later Galiza was one more time the humanity that shouts: NEVER AGAIN!

View from the top of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela