Spain’s Supreme Court sentenced the captain of the Prestige oil tanker to two years in prison, overturning a previous sentence which cleared him of criminal responsibility.
On 19 November 2002, the single-hull Aframax tanker PRESTIGE broke in two and sank in waters of the North Atlantic off the northwest coast of Spain. On October 2012, the Prestige oil spill trial started in Spain in which on November 2013, the court concluded ”it was impossible to establish criminal responsibility and Captain, Chief Engineer and the former head of Spain’s Merchant Navy were found not guilty of crimes against the environment.”
However, Spain’s Supreme Court said on Tuesday 26th of January, 2016 that it had found the Greek captain, Apostolos Mangouras, the British insurer, The London P&I Club and the owner of the oil tanker, Mare Shipping Inc, liable for one of Europe’s worst environmental disasters.
AFP reports that the total cost of the damage has been estimated at 4.1 billion euros ($4.4 billion) and by designating those liable for the disaster for the first time, Spain’s top court opens the way for compensation more than 13 years after the spill.
