Mangouras: "I'm the Only Captain to Go to Prison After an Accident"

The former captain of the Prestige tanker, Apostolos Mangouras, attended the third session of questioning at his trial being held in A Coruña for the maritime disaster that dumped more than 20 million gallons of fuel into Spanish waters in 2002.

Mangouras insists that he is being treated as a criminal for defending the work of his crewmen.

In his statement, the captain claims that the ship’s departure from a Spanish port was the worst possible decision made, given a severe storm warning was in effect. Mangouras blames the authorities for forcing his ship to leave. He also states that he was surprised no port would give him refuge.

The Spanish government reminds all that the oil spill spread throughout Cantabrian and the French coast. Authorities request that Mangouras serve at least 12 years in prison. Also being questioned in the trial is the ship's engineer, Nikolaos Argyropoulos, and former Spanish Merchant Marine, Jose Luis Lopez Sors.