Oil Slick Strikes Ibiza Beaches

Three of Ibiza's best known beaches Talamanca, Ses Figueres and En Bossa were closed for several days this week after an oil tanker sunk, releasing 150 tons of oil into the sea which affected 5 km of coastline. All three beaches re-opened on Thursday (July 19) after beach cleaning crews collected 25 tons of oil from the shore, and authorities floated absorbent barriers to minimize any more oil from reaching the shore, said local portal Typically Spanish.com.

The oil incident prompted the Independent newspaper to declare 'Fuel spills and club closures mean the party's over in Ibiza', echoing simultaneous 'Ibiza is dead' articles across the mainstream British press..

'Ibiza's chamber of commerce met yesterday to decide how to confront a possible collapse of business' the Independent continued, while in the Times, the paper reported that'' Ibiza's bar and restaurant association says that takings are 30 per cent down this season'. The Daily Mail, meanwhile, suggested 'the crackdown on the island's drug-fuelled nightlife spells disaster for its summer season', a point endorsed by Amnesia owner MartÍn Ferrer Casals.

"The damage is incalculable. We have lost millions of euros, not counting the damage to our image," Signore Casals told the Times on Amnesia's enforced temporary closure.

""People don't want to be persecuted when they come to enjoy themselves on holiday," he added, " "If they don't come here they will go to Croatia or wherever. There are plenty of other places that want to be Ibiza."

DC10, meanwhile, managed to overturn their two-month closure early, One Week To Live's Ronnie Randall reported, though with harsh security conditions from local police.

"The police- who usually attend in an undercover capacity- stood around the venue in full uniform and obliged the music to be turned off from time to time, disrupting proceedings regularly," he said, "Meanwhile outside, virtually everyone was searched, with many males allegedly receiving an internal examination," he claimed (though Ministry Of Sound.com said 'a single police unit was stopping and searching clubbers').

In better Ibiza news, Judge Jules revealed that Judgement Sunday at Eden is enjoying its busiest season ever, attracting over 1,000 extra clubbers each week to San Antonio's already busiest club night.

"It's like Radio 1 weekend every week and the atmosphere is just fantastic," said Jules. "Although we've always been busy, this year it's got stupid, and I can't put my finger on exactly why. Ibiza as a whole is about 10-20% up on last year, but not to the extent that they've been flying through the doors at Judgement Sunday. I'm not complaining," he told Skrufff.