Strong North Atlantic winds are pushing another huge oil slick along the Spanish coast as environmentalists and emergency crews frantically attempted to corral the spill Wednesday and prevent further catastrophe for a multimillion-dollar fishing industry and one of Europe’s most delicate ecosystems.
Oozing through the ocean and gooey as tar, the 6,000-ton oil spill was creeping up the coast as a fleet of boats strung out floating barriers. Officials predicted that at least some of the slick, which is the third one from the sunken Prestige oil tanker that was carrying 77,000 tons of fuel, would pollute more beaches and inlets in Spain and Portugal sometime Friday.
There is a possibility that changing ocean currents and shifting 60 m.p.h. gusts could sweep the oil farther out to sea. Winds and 25-foot waves split the 22-mile black sheen into four parts.
Emergency crews were bracing for the worst. If the spill reaches land, it will foul a longer stretch of craggy coves and damage a wider swath of the fishing industry than previous slicks.
More than 1,000 fishermen have been forced off the seas, and untold numbers of birds and other wildlife are believed to have perished.
Environmentalists are hoping that most of the Prestige cargo — about 65,000 tons of oil — will solidify in the frigid water and remain entombed in the vessel, which snapped in two Tuesday and sank about 133 miles off the northwestern Spanish coast.
The Prestige is registered in Liberia and managed by Universe Maritime Ltd., a Greek company. Chartered by a Swiss-based Russian oil trader, the Prestige left the Baltic Sea and was bound for Singapore when its single hull cracked last week in rough seas.
The Spanish government has demanded that one of the ship’s insurers, London Steamship, deposit $60 million as a guarantee against possible fines and compensation claims.