Tanker Leaks May Continue Until 2006

MADRID —  A tanker that spilled 5 million gallons of oil off northwestern Spain before it split in two and sank is leaking about 33,000 gallons of oil every day, officials said Tuesday.

The leaks from the tanker Prestige could continue into 2006, said Emilio Lora Tamayo, who led a scientific commission studying the disaster. It was more bad news for the Spanish coast, one of the world’s richest fishing areas, which has been tarred by the oil washing ashore.

“We can seal the cracks, not all of them,” Lora Tamayo said. “Or we can try to pump out the remaining oil.”

The Prestige sank Nov. 19, six days after its hull cracked in a storm, and took about 15 million gallons of oil to the bottom of the Atlantic. Spanish officials insisted then that the oil wasn’t a threat because near-freezing temperatures two miles below the ocean’s surface would cause the fuel to solidify.

Deputy Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the oil is leaking from several cracks in the ship.

Rajoy said officials were watching a slick measuring 35 by 11 miles on the water above the tanker, 152 miles out to sea. He said ships were working to scoop up at least two major slicks about 50 miles offshore.

The ships and fishermen in smaller boats have scooped up 3.4 million gallons so far.