Press release - 11 December, 2002
Greenpeace activists display, at the site of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, a banner reading Oil Hazard EU Clean up your act, referring to the infamous Prestige oil tanker disaster in Spain.
Greenpeace today sent an urgent message to EU leaders who will
meet tomorrow in Copenhagen asking them to address the issue of
maritime transport and the health and environment of the world's
oceans. Activists standing in front of the "Little Mermaid", symbol
for this city, displayed a banner that read, "Oil Hazard: EU Clean
up your act!" referring to the now infamous Prestige oil tanker
accident in Spain.
Greenpeace has been highlighting the current unacceptable
maritime transport practices in Europe that have led to, among
others, the most recent disaster of the Prestige off the coast of
Spain. In a recent meeting of the EU Ministers of Transportation,
Telecommunications and Energy in Brussels, ministers decided on a
total ban on single hulled vessels transporting heavy fuel from its
ports, but it is up to each EU member state to decide when the ban
takes effect.
Greenpeace has been demanding stronger measures that include
full and unlimited liability throughout the chain of
responsibilities, including the owners, managers and operators of a
vessel and of any charterers or owners of the cargo. Additionally,
Greenpeace is demanding that the EU immediately ban the use of
single hulled tankers carrying all hazardous cargo and exclude
ecologically sensitive marine areas from shipping routes. These
issues were dealt with inadequately by EU transport ministers,
leaving the marine environment and coastal regions of Europe
completely vulnerable to another disaster.
"According to Greenpeace, the EU Summit, which begins tomorrow,
must address these concerns. "Not enough attention has been given
to environmental issues in the discussion of EU expansion," said
Pascal Husting of Greenpeace. "Economic aims cannot be the dominant
basis for expansion. As it stands now, its apparent that the
environment isn't being dealt with satisfactory."