The Greek oil tanker Prestige split in two and sank off the coast of Galicia after spilling 420 thousand barrels (17.8 million US gallons) of oil, in the worst environmental disaster in Spanish and Portuguese history.

MV Prestige was an oil tanker owned by a Greek company based in Athens and operating under a Bahamian flag of convenience, 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 metric tons of oil.

The Prestige oil spill occurred off the coast of Galicia, Spain in November 2002, caused by the sinking of the 26-year-old, structurally deficient oil tanker MV Prestige, carrying 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. During a storm, it burst a tank on 13 November, and French, Spanish, and Portuguese governments refused to allow the ship to dock. The vessel subsequently sank on 19 November, about 210 kilometres (130 mi) from the coast of Galicia. It is estimated that it spilled 60,000 tonnes or a volume of 67,000 m³ (17.8 million US gal) of heavy fuel oil.

Galicia is an autonomous community of Spain and historic nationality under Spanish law. Located in the northwest Iberian Peninsula, it includes the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense, and Pontevedra.

A barrel is one of several units of volume applied in various contexts; there are dry barrels, fluid barrels, oil barrels, and so forth. For historical reasons, the volumes of some barrel units are roughly double the volumes of others; volumes in common use range approximately from 100 to 200 litres. In many connections, the term drum is used almost interchangeably with barrel.