Workers move to help clean up oil tanker spill

Oil salvage workers were tonight hoping a major ecological disaster had been averted after the stricken tanker Prestige finally sank in the Atlantic.

The giant vessel, which had 70,000 tons of fuel oil on board, split in two earlier today and finally went under late this afternoon.

Rescuers at the scene are now hoping most of the hazardous cargo has gone to the bottom of the ocean along with the ship.

But pressure was mounting tonight for tougher inspections of tankers and restrictions on their movement to protect other eco-systems.

Between 4,000 and 6,000 tons of oil spilled on to Spain’s north-western coast before the ship sank and wildlife groups fear birds and fish in the area could be severely affected.

Oil specialists and environmentalists were converging on the scene to help with the clean-up.

It also remains uncertain whether the oil, which is heavy than water, will still disperse if the ship breaks up further on the ocean bed.

Lars Walder, of Smit International Ltd – one of the companies leading the salvage operation – said: “It is hoped the majority of the oil has stayed within the vessel but that part of the ocean is 3.5km deep and we must still wait and see what happens.

“However it appears more optimistic at the moment.”

The 44,000-ton Bahamian-flagged Prestige broke up about 150 miles off the Coast of Death – so named because of the frequency of shipwrecks – after running into trouble during a storm last Wednesday.

A spill of the entire 70,000-ton cargo would double that of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, one of the worst ever.

Attempts to tow the vessel, which developed a 50-foot crack in its single hull, to safety failed when both Spain and Portugal refused to allow the ship to dock.

The ship, owned by the Greek company Mare Shipping, was bound for Singapore from Latvia.

Its Greek captain, Apostolus Maguras, has been jailed in Spain on charges of disobeying authorities and harming the environment.

European Union ports will ban single-hulled tankers from 2015, but campaigners want action now, while French President Jacques Chirac called for “draconian” maritime security.