Spain and Portugal feared an environmental catastrophe on Tuesday when the leaking oil tanker MS Prestige began to break up as it was towed towards Portuguese waters.
Spanish vice-premier Mariano Rajoy said the tanker had begun sinking about 270 kilometres off northwestern Spain, and was leaking oil.
The stern was under water, Rajoy said at a press conference near the Galician coastal city of La Coruna.
Four tugs secured to the tanker were prepared to start towing the stricken ship further to the open sea to minimise the effects of a spill, he said.
The oil on board on was compartmentalised, but Fernandez said the tanker had split open near central fuel tanks and that at least 5 000 tons of oil would leak.
Should the entire remaining cargo spill, estimated between 70 000-75 000 tons, the loss would double that of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill off Alaska, one of the worst ever oil spills.
It depended on the winds whether the spill would hit Spain or Portugal, reports said. Salvagers had hoped to tow the ship to a Portuguese harbour, but requests were rejected by Portuguese authorities. According to salvage experts, the next step could involve allowing the vessel to sink in deep water, thereby preventing a larger ecological catastrophe.
Fernandez said the leaked oil might solidify in cold water and sink to the sea bottom.
A representative for the Dutch salvage company Smit said it was not possible to retrieve sunken oil. Heavy fuel oil would stiffen at a depth of 3 600 metres and not rise back to the surface, he said in Rotterdam.
Environmentalists have warned that the oil would pose a danger to underwater ecosystems and constitute a ”time bomb”.
Fernandez said a Spanish and a Portuguese navy frigate were accompanying the tanker and that the two countries were coordinating rescue efforts.
Smit, the company that rescued the Russian Kursk submarine last year, had earlier turned the ship around to reduce the risk of a split. The tanker, which ruptured in a storm on Wednesday, had a 50-metre gash in its hull.
About 4 000 tons of leaked oil have already contaminated 200 kilometres of the picturesque Galician coast, killing hundreds of marine birds and temporarily depriving more than 1000 fishermen of their livelihoods.
Vice-premier Mariano Rajoy arrived on Tuesday in Galicia to assess the extent of the damage.
About 500 people including 20 members of the naval service were shovelling black sludge off beaches and skimming oil from the sea.
Authorities have approved compensation for fishermen in the region, where the economy is heavily dependent on fishing.
The Galician coast is also one of Europe’s ecologically richest areas and home to numerous species of migratory birds, fish, shellfish, sponges, coral and dolphins.
The Athens-based company Universe Maritime, which manages the MS Prestige, said in the Greek capital that the tanker was insured.
Spain has announced that it will request the insurer to pay a deposit of 60-million euros towards covering the cost of the catastrophe.
Greek experts said environmental problems could drag on for months as no country appeared willing to accept the MS Prestige in its national waters. – Sapa-DPA