Spain to sue ship’s insurers

SPAIN said yesterday it has launched legal proceedings against the British insurers of the Prestige, an aged oil tanker which split in two and sank off the country’s northwestern coast, raising fears of environmental catastrophe.

An official statement from Madrid said it first contacted the London Steamship Owners Mutual Insurance Association Limited (the London Club) about financial reparations last Friday, two days after the Prestige, loaded with 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, began listing and leaking oil.

"The government has launched legal action to seek damages and reparations against the ship owner and the insurer for damage done to the marine environment, fishing in Galicia and also for the enormous damages done to tourism," said Spanish Justice Minister Jose Maria Michavila.