Protect your coastline against the next Prestige disaster

1. Oil tankers that are in trouble should be brought to a place of refuge.
   The way the Spanish government has handled the Prestige disaster, has been criticised by French officials, Spanish local and national and international environmental organisations, by the Spanish opposition and by the Spanish people. Towing the leaking ship away from the nearest harbour towards the open sea was the most controversial decision. It goes against every form of common sense. Furthermore an official French panel commissioned by the French MP Philippe de Villiers concluded that the ship should have been brought into the port of La Coruna. One year after the disaster the facts show that towing a leaking oil tanker away from a harbour is a mistake. In 1999 a similar mistake was made, when the oil tanker Erika was refused permission to enter the port of St Nazaire (FR) just before it broke in two. If the Erika and the Prestige would have been allowed in the nearest harbours, the disasters might have been prevented or at least limited. Even if, in the worst case, a tanker sinks in the harbour, the effects still will be limited to a relatively small area and will be more easy to deal with because the water in harbours is shallow and sheltered.
   
   
2. States must ensure the availability of facilities to repair damage and clean up spilled oil.
   These facilities should be available in designated places of refuge.
   
   
3. Transportation routes of oil tankers should avoid marine and coastal nature reserves.
   Even if a damaged tanker is being towed towards a place of refuge, marine and coastal reserves should be avoided as much as possible.
   
   
4. European coastal states should develop effective Emergency Action Plans.
   The EAPs must contain descriptions of the actions that should be taken in case of an oil spill or the threat of an oil spill, the names of the institutes and persons responsible for these actions, a list of the designated places of refuge, a planning for international cooperation and communication in case of an emergency.
   
   
5. The coastal states should designate marine nature reserves as soon as possible.
   The designation of marine nature reserves is an anticipation to the EU policy for marine expansion of the Natura 2000 network. These reserves will enlarge the ability of marine ecosystems to recover from environmental disasters.
   
   
6. Coastal states should provide clear and reliable information on oil spills and on the way they handle the consequences.
   In case of an oil spill, it is important to provide clear and reliable information to the public, to the European Union and to other coastal states. The public has the right to be informed about the environmental consequences and the way governments deal with them. The EU needs the information to be able to decide which measures it can take to assist and support the coastal state and the local communities that are effected by the spill. Other coastal states need the information to prepare themselves for possible consequences for their coastal and marine areas. Information about the way the government deals with the oil spill is essential for the process of evaluation and improvement of the way to deal with oil spills in the future.