An oil tanker carrying 70,000 metric tons of fuel oil has just sunk off the Spanish coast. Another environmental disaster from an antiquated single-hulled oil tanker.
The irony though is that although the tanker was known to be in serious difficulties and leaking after a storm, neither Spain nor Portugal would let the tanker into their ports for repair - instead the Spanish just towed it offshore and left it:-
Spain has underlined its determination to ensure that the vessel is moved at least 190 kilometres (120 miles) from the coast and does not want it to enter a Spanish port.
"Where it goes after that is not our responsibility", an interior ministry spokesman in La Coruna told the Associated Press.