SPAIN: The Spanish coastline is facing a second environmental disaster in two months after an oil barge sank near Gibraltar early yesterday morning. The captain died in the accident and two other crew members were rescued by coastguards.
Spanish authorities, who came under severe criticism for their tardy reaction when the tanker Prestige sank last November, were quick to take action yesterday. They immediately established a crisis committee and took emergency measures to try to prevent oil escaping from its tanks and contaminating the coastline. Two-hundred metres of floating barriers have already been set up and another 400 metres are on standby.
Salvage vessels have already been called away from the clean-up operation in Galicia.
They are expected to arrive in the Bay of Algeciras in the next two days. The 37-metre barge is lying in only 50 metres of water and salvage operators hope to either refloat her or pump the oil from her tanks. Experts are confident the 1 square km slick comes from the diesel in the barge's own tanks and not from the 1,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil it was delivering to one of the controversial bunkering tankers anchored in the bay.
Local officials have long been complaining about the dangers posed by these bunkering vessels.
Mr Patricio Gonzalez, mayor of Algeciras, said yesterday that 43 oil spillages have occurred in these waters in the last two years and it was only a matter of time before a major disaster occurred.