MV ''Prestige'' was an
oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...
owned by a Greek company based in Athens and operating under a
Bahamian flag, that on 19 November 2002 sank off the coast of
Galicia,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. The sinking caused a major environmental disaster, polluting thousands of miles of coastline with 50,000 tonnes of oil.
Design and construction
''Prestige'' was a single-hulled
oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...
with a
length overall of , a
beam of , a hull depth of , and a
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
of . It had a and a total cargo capacity of .
The ship was launched on 10 December 1975 and completed on 30 March 1976 by
Hitachi Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. in
Maizuru, Kyoto
is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,644 in 34817 households and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Maizuru is located in northern Kyoto Prefe ...
, Japan. At the time of its sinking, it was owned by Mare Shipping, and registered in the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...
.
See also
*
Prestige oil spill
The ''Prestige'' oil spill occurred off the coast of Galicia, Spain in November 2002, caused by the sinking of the 26-year-old, structurally deficient oil tanker , carrying 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. During a storm, it burst a tank on 13 ...
*
List of oil spills worldwide
*
Plataforma Nunca Máis
*
''Urquiola'': another oil tanker that sank off the Galician coast in 1976
*
''Aegean Sea'': another oil tanker that sank off the Galician coast in 1992
References
External links
Prestigeat the Ministry of the Sea (Galicia) (
Xunta de Galicia
The Xunta de Galicia (; "Regional Government of Galicia") is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President(s) and the specialized ministers (''Consell ...
)
The Prestige: one year on, a continuing disastera report by the
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...
Prestige Ship Structure Case Study
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prestige, MV)
Oil tankers
Ships built by Hitachi Zosen Corporation
Shipwrecks of Spain
1975 ships
Maritime incidents in 2002