The MV Prestige was an oil tanker owned by a Greek company based in Athens and operating under a Bahamian flag, that on 19 November 2002 sank off the coast of Galicia, Spain. The sinking caused a major environmental disaster, polluting thousands of miles of coastline with 50,000 tonnes of oil.

Design and construction

Prestige was a single-hulled oil tanker with a length overall of 243 m, a beam of 34.4 m, a hull depth of 18.7 m, and a draft of 14 m. It had a and a total cargo capacity of. The ship was launched on 10 December 1975 and completed on 30 March 1976 by Hitachi Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. in Maizuru, Kyoto, Japan. At the time of its sinking, it was owned by Mare Shipping, and registered in the Bahamas.