1976 and 1992.
Immediately after the sinking ensued a spat between Spanish and British ministers over the claim that the ship was Britain's responsibility as it was apparently heading for Gibraltar. Environmentalists claim the Spanish government worsened things by insisting the ailing ship be towed out to sea, rather than to a safe haven for unloading.
These arguments are really side Times in theated complay
shipping industries' completely cavalier attitude to safety, workers' rights and environmental protection in their uncontrolled pursuit of profits.
One revelation was that the uncertainty over the destination of the Prestige was because oil typically changes hands many times in a speculative merry-go-round even as it travels the open seas, so it is often redirected to several different ports in a single journey: a revealing illustration of the irrationality and environmental irresponsibility of the capitalist market.
At the time of sinking, a company called Crown Resources Ltd, with several British directors, including a former Gibraltan minister, but actually part of very large Russian private conglomerate, the Alfa Group Consortium, owned the oil. The tanker was flagged by a Bahamian company, operated by a Greek one and owned by a single-ship company in Liberia.
Often an offshoot company is formed to operate a single tanker: this limits the owner's liability in the case of a spill. In the words of a spokesperson for KIMO, an organisation of northern European local major concern Authorities: 'It seems those rogue ship owners and cargo owners who continue to ship their products in sub-standard ships can receive full compensation, but innocent victims never receive full compensation."
The Byzantine tangle of companies - ship owners, cargo owners and operators - is a
of the Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), which brings together many transport unions. below the wholesale price paid
The private generator, British Energy, which runs the more efficient reactors in England, has just had its £650m government "loan" extended for this reason.
Government sponsorship of the nuclear industry over the years has led to a terrible legacy of waste and stockpiles of It has meant that altema tives are not investigated
The most notorious case was in the 1980s, when the Atomic Energy Authority itself recommended rejection of research into wave power after its enquiry gave an estimate of the potential cost of the resulting electricity that
The government has allowed the £79m programme to generate elec- trophe tricity from biomass to collapse. It looks unlikely to meet its target of 5% of electricity from this source by 2010 At the same time, it underwrites the (FOCs), where ships are flagged in coun tries that have no real connection with the owning company.
According to the ITF, such flags are 'used to secure short-term competitive advantages with the result that... crews are too cheap and under-qualified [and] ship maintenance is avoided'. Casualisation is rife and the ITF campaign report on FOCs lists many cases of abuse of workers, including failure to pay, racism and abandonment in
It seems likely that one result of the Prestige disaster will be tougher rules on the use of single-hulled oil tankers, which may be denied entry to European ports earlier than their projected phase-out date of 2015. But it should also raise the issue of the future of the oil industry.
Many scientists believe that fossil fuel consumption needs to be cut by at least 60% in order to minimise the effects of global warming. This would mean a big cut in oil production, less need to transport vast quantities, new energy production and conservation industries and the socialist planning necessary for such a change. decommissioning costs of the private nuclear generators How the energy sector is run is vita to the future of our planet, because of the impact it has on climate change. The unions in the sector need to assen their power and to show that they have a role in helping to avert climate catas They are in a good position to hold an enquiry and formulate a plan for future production and consumption, including the problem of nuclear waste.