A matter of Prestige?
Oil slick at the Galician coastline
Photo credit: © WWF Spain / Raúl Garcia
As oil hits Spanish coast, WWF calls for global four-point plan of action
Following the sinking of the Prestige off the coast of Spain, WWF, the conservation organization, is calling for a four-point plan of action to be put in place to help prevent future maritime disasters.
The four-point plan of action focuses on regulating shipping, in particular in vulnerable marine areas. Actions include 1. Conducting analysis to identify areas believed to particularly sensitive and vulnerable to shipping; 2. Designating, through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) those sites that qualify as Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas or PSSAs; 3. Introducing and enforcing strict regulations tailored for each PSSA including banning single-hull vessels in these areas, identifying areas to be avoided or recommended routes, requiring experienced pilots on board when ships have to pass through these areas or requiring mandatory reporting as ships transit sensitive areas; and 4. Improving maintenance and inspection globally of all vessels, but particularly those single hulled-vessels approaching their decommissioning age. Read WWF press release of 20 November 2002 and visit WWF's oil spill crisis site .
WWF Press Release of 21 November 2002: Spain not prepared to deal with Prestige oil spill, WWF says.
WWF Statement of 4 December 2002: European Commission's proposal on oil tankers a step forward, but still fall short in key areas
WWF position for EU Transportation Ministers Meeting, December 2002: Reducing the risk - Measures to prevent shipping disasters
WWF Opinion Editorial: Why was the Prestige in such a sensitive area?
WWF Diary of the Prestige Accident
WWF bathymetric map of the area
(PDF 36 kb)
WWF information and briefing about Galicia Bank (PDF, 464 kb, English)
WWF briefing about Galicia Bank
(PDF 360 kb, Spanish)
WWF briefing on polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
(PDF, 284 kb, English)
WWF brochure on Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs)
(PDF 484 kb, English)
Position of the Prestige in relation to Galicia Bank - a potential offshore
Marine Protected Area
Map: © WWF NEAP / Sabine Christiansen
Marine Protected Area
Map: © WWF NEAP / Sabine Christiansen
WWF Spain: "La catástrofe del Prestige"(Spanish & Galician)
University of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain: Economic consequences of the oil spill caused by thePrestige (Article available in English, Spanish, Galician, Portuguese, Dutch, German)
UNEP-WCMC: Sensitive Areas of NW Spain (English)
OSPAR Quality Status Report: Bay of Biscay & Iberian Waters (English, see Region IV)
Galicia en PaXinas: Parque natural de las Islas Atlanticas (Cíes islands)(Spanish)
Instituto da Conservação da Natureza, Portugal (ICN): Areas protegidas(Portuguese)
Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal : Oil spill scenarios - MOHID model (English)
GEOTA press release: Prestige lembra que Ambiente não tem Fronteiras (Portuguese)