LA CORUNA, Spain -- Oil has begun washing up on Spain's picturesque northwestern coast, authorities said Saturday, as the stricken Greek oil tanker 'Prestige' was in danger of completely breaking up.

"All along the Mugia area there are patchs of oil along the coast, in some places it is thick," one of the town's officials told Spain's national radio.

Oil has also washed up along the shore in the nearby town of La Camarinas, some 60 kilometers (37 miles) southwest of La Coruna.

Floating oil barriers and pumping systems had been erected in the area in a bid to keep the slick from reaching the shore.

The Prestige has leaked about 1,500 tons of the 77,000 tons of the fuel oil it was carrying since it began listing Wednesday off this picturesque and ecologically important stretch of coast.

Tugs were trying to tow the Prestige, now 65 nautical miles further out to sea in case the ship breaks up and it loses more of its cargo, AFP reported.

The Prestige's engines have had to be shut down for fear of vibrations tearing further the 35-meter gash on the right side of the hull.

Plans were in place to tow the vessel 120 miles out to sea, where it would be taken over by a Dutch salvage company hired by the Greek owner.

The Prestige's captain was held for questioning in La Coruna on Friday after failing to cooperate properly in the salvage operation.

Authorities said that in order to have the crew taken off Wednesday, the captain had provided false information that the ship's engines were on fire.

David Durie, governor of the British colony of Gibraltar at Spain's southwestern tip, denied Friday that the Bahamas-registered Prestige, outward bound from Latvia, had been scheduled to dock in Gibraltar when it ran into trouble off northwestern Spain. He rebuffed a request by the European Union's Executive Commission in Brussels to know why Gibraltar had failed to inspect the Prestige, with the governor saying Spain and the EU Commission "appear to have shot from the hip."

The Galician coast of northwestern Spain includes some of the country's most beautiful scenery with a rocky coast and dramatic cliffs.

Ecologists and the fishing community fear the effects of oil pollution on stretch of coast particularly rich in corals and sponges, with nearly 90 species of fish.