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Galicia oil slick confirmed as coming from Prestige tanker
By m.p. - Nov 21, 2006 - 10:49 PM
ALSO SEE : • 1.2 million Euro demanded in compensation by those affected by the Prestige oil tanker disaster - Sep 25, 2008 - 8:18 AM
• Cost of the Prestige oil tanker disaster 938 million €, and rising - Apr 9, 2008 - 6:09 PM

An image of the Prestige oil tanker parting in two off the coast of Galicia taken from the Spanish Navy frigate Baleares in November 2002. Photo - EFE Archives
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The Spanish government says there is no threat to the marine ecosystem
The government has confirmed that the new oil slicks detected off the coast of Galicia are, indeed, from the Prestige oil tanker, which went down in the area four years ago. Experts say they pose no threat to the marine ecosystem owing to their distance from the coast - 250 kms - and their small size.

The two centimetre slicks were detected some 10 days ago by scientists from the IEO Spanish Oceanographic Institute, part of the Ministry for Science and Education.

A press release from the Spanish government on Tuesday gave the final results of analyses of samples taken at the site, confirming that the slicks come from the Prestige tanks sealed off by Repsol two years ago.
The government says the current constant surveillance of the area will be stepped up as a precautionary measure.

The Prestige went down in November 2002, in an area known as the Coast of Death. Its wreck lies at a depth of 4,000 metres. The Repsol oil company managed to extract 14,000 tons of the fuel remaining in its tanks, leaving just 700 stored in the stern.

The tanker was carrying 77,000 tons of fuel when it went down.

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ALSO SEE :
• 1.2 million Euro demanded in compensation by those affected by the Prestige oil tanker disaster - Sep 25, 2008 - 8:18 AM
• Cost of the Prestige oil tanker disaster 938 million €, and rising - Apr 9, 2008 - 6:09 PM
• Legal action by Spain regarding the Prestige disaster fails in the United States - Jan 3, 2008 - 8:38 AM
• Five years since the Prestige went down - Nov 13, 2007 - 7:28 AM
• Prestige Oil Disaster - Five Years On - Nov 13, 2007 - 7:24 AM
• Prestige oil tanker still leaking on the sea bed - Mar 24, 2007 - 12:35 PM
• Prestige wreck to be inspected next year - Dec 3, 2006 - 4:51 PM
• Thousands march in Santiago de Compostela in protest at the Prestige oil disaster - Nov 13, 2006 - 9:38 AM