Fears that fresh oil could be leaking from the oil tanker Prestige, which sank off Spain yesterday, were diminishing last night.
Oil sighted yesterday in the Atlantic, which sparked the alert, is now believed to have leaked from the vessel before it sank. Oil from the Prestige has already heavily polluted the shores of Galicia, on Spain's north-west coast.
It has been estimated that around 5,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil leaked from the fractured hull when the 77,000 tonne Bahamian- registered vessel foundered a week ago off an area known as Costa da Morte - the Death Coast - off the north -west coast. Six tugs managed to tow the Prestige away from the coastline to protect the rich fishing grounds before she sank 145 miles away from the shore, spewing out another 6,000 tonnes of the oil.
Mr Federico Trillo, the Spanish defence minister, said yesterday that he had been ready to order the air force to bomb and blow up the Prestige if the operation to tow her had failed. "Thankfully, I did not have to give the order," he said.
Experts say that it is this oil which spewed out in the sinking that is now congealing into "bags" being disbursed in the heavy seas rather than a sign that the tanks on the 26-year-old vessel have ruptured under the pressure of the two-mile deep water.
They all believe that these corroded tanks will eventually burst but they cannot agree whether the fuel that will be released will rise to the surface, causing an ecological disaster, or whether the cold water will cause it to congeal and sink to the seabed.
But the thousands of families who depend on the sea for their livelihood are seriously worried.
Storms and high winds have begun to blow the oil from the 280 km original slick towards the shore.
Particularly concerned are the fishermen from the Rias Baixas, in southern Galicia, where deep water inlets house hundreds of oyster and mussel beds, cockles and percebes (goose barnacles).
The Spanish government has vowed to find who is responsible for the tragedy and make them pay. A spokesman said they will demand €60 million from the insurers of the Prestige, although the responsibilities have yet to be determined.
The vessel was built in Japan, belonged to a Greek company, but was registered in the Bahamas.
She was one of the few remaining single-hull tankers a type of vessel which has been criticised in many countries because it can cause greater damage in the event of an accident.
Ms Loyola de Palacio, the EU vice president, said yesterday that such craft would be prohibited by 2005 to be replaced by the much safer double-hull vessels.