Greece says Spain scapegoating Prestige captain
Date: 20-Jan-03
Country: GREECE
Author: Karolos Grohmann
Greek Merchant Marine Minister George Anomeritis said Spain had only itself to blame for the spill and was acting like a "Third World country" in its treatment of arrested captain Apostolos Mangouras.
"The ship sank five days after the captain was forcefully removed from the sinking tanker," Anomeritis, whose country is current head of the European Union, told Reuters in an interview.
"He didn't want to leave the vessel but he was transferred away."
The Prestige, carrying more than 75,000 tonnes of fuel oil, snapped in two on November 19 after battling rough seas for six days.
It plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean some 210 km (130 miles) off the rugged northwestern Spanish coastline of Galicia and has since been leaking oil from more than 20 holes.
The Prestige has left a series of oil slicks which have ravaged wildlife in Galicia, a prime fishing region in Spain.
High winds have also driven the sludge to French waters, devastating the oyster and fishing industry in the Gironde region.
The 26-year-old, single-hulled Prestige sailed under a Bahamas flag but was operated by the Athens-based Universe Maritime.
Arrested and charged with hampering rescue efforts, Mangouras is in jail in Spain with bail set at three million euros.
"He was the one who asked to stay on board and try to help out in rescue operations. He didn't sink the ship. But now he is charged with blocking rescue efforts," Anomeritis said.
Anomeritis said if Spain had granted Mangouras' request to be allowed into a safe port, his ship would not have sunk.
"He had asked for a port refuge but Spain did not allow him to dock. Instead he was fighting the waves for six days," the minister said. "We consider his treatment by Spanish authorities as abysmal and Third World-like."
The minister said he was still waiting to receive a report from Spanish authorities. "We have still not received their report on the causes of this accident," he said.
The European Union late last year banned single-hulled tankers carrying heavy fuel oil or certain other products from entering EU ports in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the Prestige disaster.
"Even the EU decision to ban these types of tankers doesn't have anything to do with the captain," Anomeritis said.
