LA CORUNA (Spain): One month after the Greek-owned oil tanker Prestige sprang a leak and sank off Spain, the country is facing one of the worst environmental catastrophes of all times.

A mass of black sludge has tarred 600 kilometres of the northwestern coast, coated 25,000 birds in oil and left more than 4,000 fishermen and others without work — and the worst may be still to come.

Scientists estimate the tanker has spilled only 20,000 tons of its total cargo, taking 57,000 tons of heavy fuel oil into the Atlantic when it split in two and sank 250 kilometres off shore three weeks ago.

The damaged tanks of the Prestige are now leaking their lethal cargo in the dark depths of the ocean, poisoning the coastal waters of Spain and possibly France and Portugal for years and perhaps decades to come.

The “Spanish Chernobyl” resulted from a string of problems in maritime traffic, where oil transport companies try to survive the cut-throat competition by flying convenience flags, using ageing single-hull tankers and making use of lax safety regulations.

“Every week, an oil spill of at least 100 tons occurs somewhere in the world, and a spill of more than 1,000 tons happens every year,” French expert Michel Girin says.

The European Union has since taken steps to tighten maritime security — perhaps the only positive outcome of the tragedy which started when the Prestige ruptured off the Galician coast in a storm on Nov 13.

The Spanish government took a decision which is now widely seen as a fatal mistake. Instead of towing the crippled tanker to port in an attempt to remove its oil cargo, the authorities ordered salvagers to pull it out to the open sea.

As a result, the Prestige sank with its cargo and is now resting on the seabed at a depth of 3.6 kilometres — a distance where it will probably be impossible to pump out the remaining oil.

The government’s initial theory that the oil will solidify in the deep cold waters has lost credibility as iridescent oil slicks have risen to the surface.

The northern part of the Galician coast is known as the Coast of Death for its capricious winds and perilous underwater currents which have drawn countless ships to a watery grave over the centuries.

The name has taken on a new meaning as white beaches have been covered by leathery coats of oil, mussel beds have been buried in oil sludge and fishermen’s wives have wept on oil-stained shores over their lost livelihoods.

Protected bird species such as the guillemot could now become extinct in Spain, and oil has killed dozens of cetaceans, including common, striped and bottle-nosed dolphins.

The tragedy prompted a huge wave of solidarity, with thousands of young people from all over the world streaming to Galicia to don white plastic suits and to scrape oil with any means available, even their own hands.

The big loser has been Jose Maria Aznar’s conservative government, lambasted for its handling of the disaster. Things have never looked as bad for Aznar since he swept to power in 1996 — and the oil disaster looks set to go on and on.

How long will oil keep oozing from the cracked tanks on the ocean floor? If it continues flowing out with its current speed, it will all be out by 2006, according to scientists advising the government.

Other estimates range from five months to a decade — and the oil will undermine the growth of marine life for much longer than that.

In the worst case, the tanks could burst from pressure and spew all the oil at once.

Experts say the Galician coast has not yet even recovered from the oil spilled by the tanker Aegean Sea a decade ago.

“Within two years we will start to notice a recovery, which will be complete within 10 years from now,” Girin said.

Other experts say it will take three decades, and some believe Galicia’s rugged coast will never be quite the same again.—dpa