MADRID, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- An oil tanker that split apart and sank off Spain one year ago is still leaking some of its 14,000 tons of fuel oil, a news report said Friday.
Spanish Environment Minister Elvira Rodriguez said some 3,200 workers still go out every day to combat the black tide that spilled from the tanker and fouled the Galician coastline when The Prestige sank Nov. 13, 2002.
An oil slick affected some 1,243 miles of Galician and Cantabrian coastlines, EFE reported.
The ship lies at a depth of more than 13,115 feet and is currently leaking less than 2.6 gallons of fuel oil per day. It no longer poses a serious threat to the environment, Rodriguez said.
The tanker was leaking 185 gallons of oil per day in June, down from 33,000 gallons a day when it sank.
Since the ship sank, more than 81,000 tons of fuel oil mixed with sand and water have been removed, and 12.9 million square feet of oil-soaked cliffs have been cleaned.
