![A man watches the sea with his binoculars at an oil-covered beach near Muxia in northern Spain after fuel oil from the stricken Bahamas registered tanker Prestige arrived to shore November 17, A man watches the sea with his binoculars at an oil-covered beach near Muxia in northern Spain after fuel oil from the stricken Bahamas registered tanker Prestige arrived to shore November 17,](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2D4382T/a-man-watches-the-sea-with-his-binoculars-at-an-oil-covered-beach-near-muxia-in-northern-spain-after-fuel-oil-from-the-stricken-bahamas-registered-tanker-prestige-arrived-to-shore-november-17-2002-a-huge-oil-slick-closed-down-fishing-and-devastated-wildlife-on-spains-northwest-coast-on-sunday-as-rescuers-battled-in-rough-seas-to-salvage-a-stricken-tanker-still-carrying-over-70000-tonnes-of-oil-but-environmental-groups-said-a-much-worse-catastrophe-loomed-if-the-26-year-old-tanker-prestige-damaged-in-a-storm-on-wednesday-should-break-in-two-amid-seven-metre-22-foot-waves-in-the-atlant-2D4382T.jpg)
A man watches the sea with his binoculars at an oil-covered beach near Muxia in northern Spain after fuel oil from the stricken Bahamas registered tanker Prestige arrived to shore November 17,
![The stricken Bahamas registered tanker Prestige, loaded with 77,000 tonnes of fuel oil, drifts powerless off northwestern Spain November 14, 2002. The tanker spilled tonnes of fuel oil into the sea leaving The stricken Bahamas registered tanker Prestige, loaded with 77,000 tonnes of fuel oil, drifts powerless off northwestern Spain November 14, 2002. The tanker spilled tonnes of fuel oil into the sea leaving](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2D48XG9/the-stricken-bahamas-registered-tanker-prestige-loaded-with-77000-tonnes-of-fuel-oil-drifts-powerless-off-northwestern-spain-november-14-2002-the-tanker-spilled-tonnes-of-fuel-oil-into-the-sea-leaving-a-slick-over-200-metres-wide-and-30-kilometres-long-as-rescue-services-battled-to-tow-it-further-out-to-sea-twenty-four-crew-members-were-airlifted-to-safety-yesterday-2D48XG9.jpg)
The stricken Bahamas registered tanker Prestige, loaded with 77,000 tonnes of fuel oil, drifts powerless off northwestern Spain November 14, 2002. The tanker spilled tonnes of fuel oil into the sea leaving
![ESA - Part of an oil slick of several kilometers follows the stricken Bahamas-flagged Prestige oil tanker ESA - Part of an oil slick of several kilometers follows the stricken Bahamas-flagged Prestige oil tanker](https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2002/11/part_of_an_oil_slick_of_several_kilometers_follows_the_stricken_bahamas-flagged_prestige_oil_tanker/9175389-5-eng-GB/Part_of_an_oil_slick_of_several_kilometers_follows_the_stricken_Bahamas-flagged_Prestige_oil_tanker_pillars.jpg)