In November-13, 2002, the disabled tanker PRESTIGE was drifting towards the Galician coast. The initial response of the Spanish authorities seemed to be clear when the tanker was dragged off-shore in the North-Western direction. However, several changes in the drag direction made in the aftermath along with waves caused more stress to the ship. A few days later the PRESTIGE finally sank off the Northwestern Atlantic coast of Spain releasing about 30.000 tons of heavy fuel oil. This spill then provoked disastrous consequences along the Spanish and, later, the French coasts. Images of oiled shores and animals as well as jobless fishermen had been made public by the media and triggered a long-lasting discussion about the transparency and rationale of the decision made by the authorities (Serret et al., 2003; Freire et al., 2006).
In recent published studies, scientists of the GKSS and the Institute for Biology and Chemistry of the marine Environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg found that oil spill contingency management could have taken a significant benefit from scientific support. The main research question was: Could scientific information and tools available at the time of the emergency be of support in order to minimize the risk for regional ecosystems and economies?
Read more
