European Surfing's Oily Apocalypse

CD: I read recently that they think now that the ship may not have been initially as bad off, and that it should have been towed to port.

JB: Now they think also that the problem was not the ship's hull, as they initially reported, but because the ship was not handled in the right way when it started leaking oil.

The people in charge of certification. They said that this ship was alright to go to the US for at least 2 more years. So the inspection was OK, the boat was OK. But there was a big storm and some containers on a boat sailing in front of the Prestige -- they think the Prestige got struck by one of these. There was a lot of water coming into it as a result. Two tanks were full of water in the ship. They had fill them to get good balance with the other tanks that were full of oil. So they flooded some other tanks after the collision. The experts said that the loading of the extra water did something to damage the structure. The ship should have been taken to a harbor where it could have been protected -- not hauled way offshore. The experts all agree with that.

JB: This one I think is the widest area of any spill. Portugal to Bordeaux. 2000 kilometers.

JB: Yes, and you know, Gallacia was this really beautiful country with fjords and scenery. The coast is very rough and rocky. In this area, the people are living from the sea. Fishermen -- all the services revolve around the sea. All seafood packing -- Mussels -- Gallacia was one of the worlds biggest producers. It's ruined.

They've estimated that there will be maybe one million birds dead. For fishing long term, it should be alright. When it's polluted, fish move, but the mussels can't. They get covered in oil.