A court awarded the Spanish state €1.6bn in damages on Wednesday, over the 2002 Prestige oil spill, one of Europe’s worst environmental disasters. The court in the north-western Spanish city of A Coruña also said the regional government of Galicia, off which coast the Prestige tanker sank, be compensated €1.8m and neighbouring France, which was also affected, €61m. The ship’s Greek captain Apostolos Mangouras and British insurers The London P&I Club were condemned to pay $1bn, the court said in a statement — the maximum limit fixed by the company in its contract for the ship. The rest must be paid by ship owner Mare Shipping and the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds, a grouping of two inter-governmental organisations that provide compensation for environmental damage resulting from spills. The Prestige tanker ran into trouble in rough seas in November 2002. Six days later, damaged and adrift, it broke in two and sank off the coast of Galicia. The accident released 63,0...
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