Spain braced for biggest slick yet

The government of Spain’s Galicia region, grappling with an ecological disaster following the sinking of an oil tanker, today warned coastal residents to brace for the worst as the biggest slick yet oozed relentlessly toward land.

Strong winds off Spain’s north-west coast were pushing the sprawling, amorphous mass toward Cape Finisterre, one of the areas already tarred by fuel oil from the tanker Prestige, said Enrique Lopez Veiga, the Galician fisheries minister.

This afternoon, the slick – estimated to contain 9,000 tons (2.4 million gallons) of fuel oil – was about 20 miles offshore. It had travelled about 13 miles since last night.

Besides the wind, currents are also pushing the slick ashore, Lopez Veiga said.

“We have everything against us. We must prepare for the worst,” he added.

Seven oil-sucking skimmer boats from other EU countries left port to head for the slick today but 23 ft high waves were expected to stop them from operating.

The slick contains far more oil than that which has hit the craggy Galician coast since the disaster began two weeks ago.