Introduction
Globalization may be described as the increased interconnectedness and flows between world regions and cultures. Today, this interconnectedness is apparent in major events. Although globalization is usually associated with positive outcomes, it may have negative ones as well. For example, when disasters happen on the world stage, the interconnectedness and flow between regions accentuates the problem. No disaster depicts this fact clearer than the Prestige tanker disaster. In November 19 2002, The Beaches of Galicia in North-Western Spain were covered in thick sheets of heavy fuel oil known as Crude oil 4 (Gimenez 1). This was part of a twenty-one million gallon oil cargo leaking from a sinking tanker known as the Prestige. After being impacted by strong gale winds, the cargo ship suffered a hole on the starboard side and began to flood. This disaster would later be ranked as the world’s worst ever oil spillage disaster, whose implications are still felt a decade later (BBC 1). The Prestige tanker was owned by a Greek family, registered in Bahamas and operating under the Liberia-based Mare Shipping Company. This shows that several nationalities were involved in this event, underlining the effects of globalization. This paper examines the Prestige tanker disaster as a result of globalization.
There are several implications that the globalization had on the Prestige disaster. First is the issue of excessive flow of commodities. Globalization has led to increased movement of cargo between regions that are many thousands of miles from each other. Such cargo, if in bulk, is transported across oceans using large vessels. The transportation process for heavy and poisonous cargo such as crude oil or chemicals is fraught with danger. This is because in case of an accident, the poisonous cargo may leak into the oceans. This may greatly impact pristine ecosystems and marine life in general. This is what happened in 2002 during the Prestige disaster where the oil spill resulted in the death of numerous marine animals in the coast of Spain. Without globalization driving the demand for oil, this disaster might never have happened.
Secondly, globalization has lead to great developments in technology, which contribute to increased risk to the environment and human beings. In the context of the Prestige disaster, technological advances include oil technology used to convert heavy oils into usable products as well as technologies which area drivel by oil fuels. Globalization drives the demand for energy sources such as fuel and its transportation. The fact that the Prestige tanker sailed from Latvia to the coast of Galicia loaded with more than 70,000 tons of heavy oil indicates that the motivation for this dangerous trip was the demand for oil (Gimenez 1). By These events would not have happened without globalization. This implies that globalization has resulted in transportation systems which place nature at great risk.
Thirdly, globalization has brought about linkages between businesses and multiple corporate identities which can result in difficulties in tracking criminal activity. In the Prestige disaster the ownership of the ship remained unclear even after investigations were carried out. Some sources indicate that the tanker was fully owned by a Greek family, who had masked their operations using a group of front companies which were linked to a Liberian company. The globalization processes consists of allowing different nationalities to interact and set up businesses in foreign countries. If not properly scrutinized, people or organizations may use aliases to make it hard for conviction when they commit criminal offences. In the Prestige disaster case, after ten years comprising of investigation and trial, the Galician High Court acquitted three of the main defendants. These include Apostolos Mangouras, the ship captain; Nikolaos Argyropoulos, the ship’s engineer and Jose Luis Lopez, the head of the merchant navy in Spain at the time. The shift of blame from one authority to another has greatly frustrated the prosecution process of this case and those responsible for the oil spill have not paid for their crime.
Conclusion
Globalization is the state of increased interconnectedness and flows between different regions and cultures of the world. The Prestige disaster of 2002 would not have happened without the forces of globalization at work. There are various elements of globalization to which this tragedy may be attributed. First, the increased flow of commodities across the globe is driven by globalization. With increased communication and relationships between regions, there is increase in the number of products being traded. In the Prestige disaster, oil was being transported to overseas markets. This is one of the factors of globalization that contributed to the disaster. Secondly, technological advancements are also driven by globalization. Technologies that require fuel and those that are used to process crude oil have lead to an increase in demand. Thirdly, globalization has resulted in linkages between businesses and multiple corporate identities. This can cause difficulties in tracking criminal activity. In the years following the Prestige disaster, there was a shift of blame from one authority to another. This is why no one has been held responsible for the disaster more than a decade after it happened.
Work Cited
BBC.com. "Prestige oil tanker disaster crew acquitted in Spain." BBC News. Version 1. BBC, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24930976>.
Gimenez, Eduardo L. "Understanding the decisions made at the dawn of the Prestige catastrophe." Vigo University 1.1 (2007): 1-20. Print.
