Prestige oil spill causing great harm to the local fishing industry. The spill is the largest environmental disaster in the history of both Spain and Portugal. The amount of oil spilled was more than the "Exxon Valdez" incident and the toxicity considered higher, because of the higher water temperatures. In 2007 the Southern District of New York dismissed a 2003 lawsuit by the Kingdom of Spain against the American Bureau of Shipping, the international classification society which had certified the "Prestige" as in compliance with rules and laws, because ABS was a "person" per the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution
Oil spill governance in the United States covers inland oil spills. It is required by US federal law that any discharge of oil that creates a film or sheen on the water surface be reported to the National Response Centre. The National Response Centre then dissipates information to the USCG who acts as the federal on-scene coordinator. The USCG are the primary federal response authority in coastal water hence having the overall power to ensure the effective cleanup of oil spills and lead actions that prevent further discharge from the spill source. The resulting activities that follow up an oil spill involving federal, state and private parties