Prestige oil spill (2002)
A single-hull tanker that sank off Galicia in 2002 after being ordered away from the coast, which accelerated the European ban on single hulls.
The Prestige, a twenty-six-year-old single-hull tanker, was damaged in a storm off Galicia, and Spanish authorities refused it shelter in a port, having it towed out to sea instead. The ship broke apart six days later and its cargo fouled the coasts of Spain, Portugal and France. The case opened two debates insurers still follow: places of refuge, since sending a ship in distress away can make the loss worse, and the liability of the protection and indemnity club beyond the convention regime. The European Union responded by bringing forward the phase-out of single-hull tankers and banning them from carrying heavy fuel oil. The dispute between the Spanish state and the ship's insurer lasted nearly twenty years, between Spanish courts and English arbitration.
On November 13, 2002, the Prestige sent a distress call with about 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil on board; it broke apart and sank on November 19 some 250 kilometers offshore, and Regulation (EC) No 1726/2003 of July 22, 2003 accelerated the phase-out of single-hull tankers.
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