He added that the stricken ship had not been allowed into a Portuguese port because of its "terrible condition".

Portugal's navy, air force and maritime authorities remain on a high state of alert to monitor and take action against the pollution threat caused by the Prestige's sinking.

Latest weather reports suggest that Portugal will remain out of the line of the sporadic line of oil slicks emerging from where the ship lies, until at least after the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese Foreign Ministry finally admitted this week that initial operations with Spanish authorities were marred by “dysfunctional” coordination between the two countries. According to a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, “lessons must be learnt from what happened while ensuring that future coordination is maximised”.

Portugal News Photo of oil tanker Prestige off the Iberian Coast of Europe

Article republished courtesy of The Portugal News:
http://the-news.net

Please also see the Greenpeace call to the International Maritime Organisation: http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=imo1&s=fsh