Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Spain Oil Spill Larger Than Expected
Aired August 28, 2003 - 13:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: They're still cleaning the beaches nine months after an oil tanker went down off the coast of Spain. And now the Spanish government admits the oil spill was bigger than it earlier thought.
CNN's Al Goodman has a report now from Madrid.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The oil tanker Prestige split in two and sank last November 19 off northwest Spain. The ship started leaking six days earlier, closer to shore. But the government ordered it out to the open Atlantic Sea. The Prestige carried 77,000 tons, or 20 million gallons, of fuel oil.
The government long ago said the spill was Spain's worst ecological disaster. For months, there was a ban on the lucrative fishing industry, like the mussels and clams, which at one point affected 900 kilometers, or 500 miles, of coastline. Several thousand fishermen were idle. One recent study says up to 250,000 birds may have died. This week, the government suddenly revealed that far more oil had spilled than it had previously disclosed.
MARIANO RAJOY, SPANISH DEP. PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Experts earlier told us there were 37,000 tons of oil still aboard the sunken ship. Now they say there are just 14,000 tons of oil still aboard.
GOODMAN: It means more than 80 percent of the cargo has spilled, not just 50 percent, as the government had been saying. Special underwater cameras, robots, and a mini-submarine provided the details.
Initial dives by a French sub are pictured here. More recent dives by a Spanish oil company provided proof of a much bigger spill. The spill initially affected northwest Spain, later spreading to Spain's northern beaches and France. There were more vacant hotel rooms than usual on some northern Spanish beaches this summer. Hundreds of beaches have been cleaned up. But some people are still getting oil on their feet.
"The beach is so tempting," she says, "you could almost forget about the oil."
Yet, just last weekend, 20 beaches were polluted from the oil still washing ashore, the government said. But experts now say they've practically sealed the cracks on the sunken ship. The disclosures this week led opposition parties to renew their attacks on the government. Critics say the government has systematically downplayed the magnitude of the disaster. And they also blame the government for mismanaging the stricken Prestige ship and the cleanup.
But the government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has consistently defended its handling of the crisis.
(on camera): With court battles pending against the ship owner, the cleanup costs keep rising. The government says at least $1 billion will be needed. The European Union has offered less than half of that amount. And one recent study says it will take 10 years to recover from the oil spill. Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 28, 2003 - 13:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: They're still cleaning the beaches nine months after an oil tanker went down off the coast of Spain. And now the Spanish government admits the oil spill was bigger than it earlier thought.
CNN's Al Goodman has a report now from Madrid.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The oil tanker Prestige split in two and sank last November 19 off northwest Spain. The ship started leaking six days earlier, closer to shore. But the government ordered it out to the open Atlantic Sea. The Prestige carried 77,000 tons, or 20 million gallons, of fuel oil.
The government long ago said the spill was Spain's worst ecological disaster. For months, there was a ban on the lucrative fishing industry, like the mussels and clams, which at one point affected 900 kilometers, or 500 miles, of coastline. Several thousand fishermen were idle. One recent study says up to 250,000 birds may have died. This week, the government suddenly revealed that far more oil had spilled than it had previously disclosed.
MARIANO RAJOY, SPANISH DEP. PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Experts earlier told us there were 37,000 tons of oil still aboard the sunken ship. Now they say there are just 14,000 tons of oil still aboard.
GOODMAN: It means more than 80 percent of the cargo has spilled, not just 50 percent, as the government had been saying. Special underwater cameras, robots, and a mini-submarine provided the details.
Initial dives by a French sub are pictured here. More recent dives by a Spanish oil company provided proof of a much bigger spill. The spill initially affected northwest Spain, later spreading to Spain's northern beaches and France. There were more vacant hotel rooms than usual on some northern Spanish beaches this summer. Hundreds of beaches have been cleaned up. But some people are still getting oil on their feet.
"The beach is so tempting," she says, "you could almost forget about the oil."
Yet, just last weekend, 20 beaches were polluted from the oil still washing ashore, the government said. But experts now say they've practically sealed the cracks on the sunken ship. The disclosures this week led opposition parties to renew their attacks on the government. Critics say the government has systematically downplayed the magnitude of the disaster. And they also blame the government for mismanaging the stricken Prestige ship and the cleanup.
But the government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has consistently defended its handling of the crisis.
(on camera): With court battles pending against the ship owner, the cleanup costs keep rising. The government says at least $1 billion will be needed. The European Union has offered less than half of that amount. And one recent study says it will take 10 years to recover from the oil spill. Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
