Tony Blair was this morning under fire from Spanish environmentalists angry at the threat posed to their shores by oil spills from tankers like The Prestige. Single hull tankers carrying heavy fuel oil continue to sail into port at Gibraltar - despite a ban enacted by the Madrid Government that prevents them passing through Spanish waters after last year's disaster.
This morning volunteers from the Greenpeace boat Esperanza boarded the single-hulled tanker Vemamagna in the Algeciras bay off the British protectorate. They unfurled banners saying 'Peligro Petroleo' - translated as 'Oil Hazard'. Spaniards are upset that their government's efforts to keep dangerous tankers from their coast have been undermined by Blair's continued lack of action. The authorities in Gibraltar cite Whitehall inaction to justify a policy that welcomes single-hulled boats.
The Gibraltarian police have this morning made several arrests.
Greenpeace is today writing to transport minister John Spellar, asking that the Government swiftly follows the lead from Madrid. New Labour has claimed that a ban on these dangerous boats would threaten energy supplies, but Spain has not encountered supply problems despite not being an oil producer.
"Gibraltar's complicity with the oil industry is unacceptable. Gibraltar is playing Russian roulette with the marine environment allowing high risk practices as those being carried out by the Vemamagna and by avoiding a ban on single-hulled vessels," stressed Juan Lopez de Uralde of Greenpeace.
According to Spanish government data, in 2001 over 56,670 merchant ships crossed the Gibraltar Strait. Furthermore, 10% of all international maritime traffic crosses the Strait. Around 5000 oil tankers travel the same route per year - about 10 to 15 oil tankers a day. Approximately 20 million tonnes of oil products are transported annually through the bay.
De Uralde continued, "Since the sinking of the Prestige, European policy regarding the transport of hazardous substances has not changed substantially. Another catastrophe can occur at any time and Algeciras Bay is literally a time bomb waiting to explode. Greenpeace demands an urgent and total ban on single-hulled tankers and the establishment of a new regime of unlimited responsibility."
In a letter to Greenpeace before Christmas the UK government refused to commit to a ban on single-hulled tankers, despite a recommendation to that effect by the European Union Transport Council.
Notes to editors:
(1) The Vemamagna belongs to the Vemaoil Company based in Gibraltar. It is a Maltese flagged vessel built in 1978. It is 246 meters and has a capacity of 87.290 tonnes.
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace UK press office on 020 7865 8255
