2. The Environment

• Several hundred kilometres of coastline have been coated in oil sludge since the disaster, and the tanker, now on the ocean floor, is still leaking. Experts say the sunken Prestige could continue leaking fuel oil until 2006, causing long-lasting damage to the coastline of Galicia.
• Oil from the tanker now affects virtually the entire coast of Galicia. Some slicks have even reached the northern regions of Asturias and Cantabria and the Basque country.
• Some beaches are covered by an oil carpet up to one metre thick.
• Oil pollution could affect the area for up to 20 years. When oil reaches shore, a significant portion sinks into the bottom sediments, from where it gradually leaks and continuously contaminates the environment.

The beaches of Barrañán, Caión and Traba

Cape Touriñán and the isle of Ons

The villages of Malpica and Carballo