Notable case, Costa da Morte, Galicia, Spain
Prestige oil spill (Galicia)
Marea negra do Prestige
In November 2002 the tanker Prestige broke up and sank 210 km off Galicia with 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. More than 60,000 tonnes reached the coasts of Spain, Portugal and France.
At a glance
- Status
- Remediated
- Activity
- 2002–2002
- Media
- surface water, sediment, living organisms
- Kind of site
- oil, accident
- Area. Wikipedia gives 2,300 km of coast affected in the text and 1,300 km in the infobox; over a thousand beaches in Spain, France and Portugal.
Contaminants
Organic compounds
Status
Remediated
Thousands of volunteers took part in cleaning the coast. In 2004 underwater robots recovered 13,000 m³ of oil from the wreck at about 4,000 m depth; a 2006 study estimated that 16,000 to 23,000 tonnes were still inside.
Story
The Prestige, a 26-year-old tanker, was holed on 13 November 2002. After six days at sea she broke in two and sank on 19 November. The wreck went on leaking about 125 tonnes a day.
In 2003 Galicia estimated the clean-up cost at 2.5 billion euros. The spill gave rise to the Nunca Máis citizens' movement.
The captain was given a suspended sentence for disobedience in 2013 and two years for recklessness in 2016; in 2017 the Spanish courts awarded damages of more than 1.5 billion euros.
Timeline
- 200213 November: the hull is breached; 19 November: the ship sinks.
- 200413,000 m³ of oil is recovered from the wreck.
- 2016The captain is sentenced to two years.
Remediation
- 2002shoreline clean-upShoreline clean-up with thousands of volunteers taking part.
- 2004oil recovery from wreckExtraction of the remaining oil from the wreck with remotely operated vehicles.
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Festuca arundinaceaTall fescuePetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
- Lolium perennePerennial ryegrassPetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
- Medicago sativaAlfalfa, lucernePetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
- Paulownia tomentosaPrincess tree, empress treePetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
Fungi
- Pleurotus pulmonariusPhoenix oyster, Indian oysterPetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: laboratory
- Scedosporium apiospermumPetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: laboratory
Sources
- Prestige oil spill, Wikipedia, 2026
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.