Oil Leak threaten Great Barrier Reef

Arapahoe

8 Apr 10, 14:49

I wonder where the captain was going....taking a short cut thru the barrier reef?

i happen to like aquatics marine creatures... Coral reef does not have legs to migrate.....they can't just walked and move down the block.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDpEc7uxS5I

A salvage team could take weeks to remove a grounded coal-carrying from Australia's Great Barrier Reef where it is leaking oil in a pristine marine environment, a state leader said.

The Chinese Shen Neng 1 ran aground on Douglas Shoals, a favourite pristine haunt for recreational fishing east of the Great Keppel Island tourist resort. The shoals - off the coast of Queensland state in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park - are in a protected part of the reef where shipping is restricted by environmental law.

Authorities fear an oil spill will damage the world's largest coral reef, which is off northeast Australia and listed as a World Heritage site.

The ship hit the reef at full speed, 15km outside the shipping lane.

State Premier Anna Bligh said a salvage team had reached the 230 metre ship on Monday and were attempting to stabilise it.

"According to the safety experts who have briefed me, it could take some weeks," Bligh told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

"It's in such a delicate part of the reef and the ship is in such a badly damaged state, managing this process will require all the specialist expertise we can bring to bear," she added.

She said the ship's owner could be fined up to AUS$1 million for staying from a shipping lane used by 6,000 cargo ships each year.

"This is a very delicate part of one of the most precious marine environments on earth and there are safe authorised shipping channels and that's where this ship should have been." Bligh said.

Authorities fear the ship will break apart during the salvage operation or spill more of its 950 metric tonnes load of heavy fuel oil.

Marine Safety Queensland said in a statement a tug boat was at the site Monday trying to stabilise the ship and a second tug was due to arrive on Monday afternoon.

"One of the most worrying aspects is that the ship is still moving on the reef to the action of the seas, which is doing further damage" to the coral and hull, the government agency's general manager Patrick Quirk said.

Quirk said the initial damage report was that the main engine room was breached, the main engine damaged and the rudder seriously damaged.

Aircraft sprayed chemical dispersants on Sunday in an effort to break up an oil slick that stretched for about 3km long and metres wide.

A police boat was standing by to remove the 23 crew if the ship broke apart and an evacuation was necessary.

The bulk carrier was taking about 65,000 metric tonnes of coal to China and ran aground within hours of leaving the Queensland port of Gladstone.

Conservationists have expressed outrage that bulk carriers can travel through the reef without a marine pilot with local expertise.

State authorities were seeking information about the effect the coal could have on the reef environment if the ship broke up before its cargo can be salvaged.

Arapahoe

8 Apr 10, 14:56

the depth of the damage on the ship.......

An underwater inspection by frogmen today revealed that the Shen Neng, which smashed into a sandbank near the reef at full speed at the weekend, is grinding against the sandbank and coral, causing further damage to its hull.

It has been confirmed that the rudder was seriously damaged, the double bottom tanks - which provide buoyancy for the ship - have been breached and one of the fuel tanks has been damaged, causing at least four tons of oil from the 950 tons on board to leach out into the sea

Arapahoe

8 Apr 10, 15:01

Anger about the grounding of the vessel is still rising in Australia, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offering some blunt language. On Tuesday, he flew over the stricken vessel, which had strayed more than seven miles outside the authorized shipping channel, and promised a full investigation to identify and punish those responsible.

Mr. Rudd noted that the captain could be subject to up to three years in prison if found negligent and that the vessel’s owners could be liable for a fine exceeding $5 million.

“From where I sit, it is outrageous that any vessel could find itself 12 kilometers off course, it seems, in the Great Barrier Reef,” he told Australian news organizations after the flyover. Mr. Rudd also said that Australia would review the adequacy of its marine safety regulations.

The vessel ran aground late Saturday at full speed near the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.

Great Barrier Reef

Great Keppel Island Chinese Ship on Great Barrier Reef

BanguIzai

10 Apr 10, 02:08

The End of the reef

Clivebenss

10 Apr 10, 02:09

not really. Part of it.

BanguIzai

10 Apr 10, 02:11

lucky sia

Clivebenss

10 Apr 10, 02:16

location at the southern tip of Swain Reefs; the ocean current will break up the spill. Not in grave danger to spill and cause big damage to the reef as reported.

Hello Kitty

10 Apr 10, 02:24

me can only say...

toopid chinese.

Captain more worried about rescuers eating all his food than damage to Reef

By staff writers
From: news.com.au
April 07, 2010 1:37PM

The Shen Neng 1's captain says he can't see any oil spoiling the Great Barrier Reef / AAP Source: AAP

Captain "can't see any oil on sea"
Worried as rescuers drink ship's water
Short-cut would have saved an hour

THE captain of a stranded Chinese coal ship is concerned about Australian rescue teams drinking his crew's water and eating their food but not the oil spill threatening Queensland's Great Barrier Reef.

THE captain of a stranded Chinese coal ship is concerned about Australian rescue teams drinking his crew's water and eating their food but not the oil spill threatening Queensland's Great Barrier Reef.

The Courier-Mail reports Captain Wang Jichang told Brisbane's Chinese Consul-General Ren Gongping that the leaking of oil was "not serious" and had been exaggerated, but the dwindling food supplies on the Shen Neng 1 were a concern.

"They need some more water because the rescue team is consuming the water and food," Mr Ren said.

"They need that. That is a problem at the moment.

"The leakage is not very serious so far. So far he (Capt Wang) cannot see the oil on the sea."

But Premier Anna Bligh said she was disappointed Capt Wang didn't understand the gravity of the disaster.

"If the Chinese crew are under any illusions that this is a minor incident, I'm sure that when they get off the boat and see what the world has to say they'll understand a bit more clearly just how serious this is," she said.

Risk of ship breaking up

Maritime authorities are still unable to give an assurance the ship will not break up during salvage operations, spilling 975 tonnes of heavy fuel still on-board, into the precious Reef.

At least two-and-a-half tonnes of heavy fuel oil has already seeped into the pristine area.

But despite the risk, maritime officials said they would not rush the delicate operation of getting the oil off the coal carrier.

Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) said response crews were continuing to move oil from the Shen Neng 1's holed tanks into secure ones, ahead of a risky mission to get the oil off the ship entirely.

The MSQ said teams were hopeful they would be able to start the mission within 24 to 48 hours.

But MSQ general manager Patrick Quirk said crews would also wait for optimal conditions.

"This is actually a delicate operation and we won't be rushing it," he said.

"The salvage team will wait for optimal (weather) conditions because we need to get this right. Every bit of oil in the water risks the marine environment and the shoreline."

"Water has entered the vulnerable tanks, however, sea pressure is holding the oil in position which is why there is so little oil in the water at the moment.

"Simply put, the oil is floating on top of that water and the pressure of the water on either side of the breach is keeping that oil in the tank while we transfer it.

Two tugs are in place and stabilising the carrier.

'Ship took short-cut'

Meanwhile, maritime authorities are investigating claims the ship was effectively rat-running through an undesignated, alternate shipping area.

But experts say the the short-cut would have only saved one hour and $2220 worth of fuel by running the risk of the Reef.

Authorities are also focusing on fatigue among senior crew members of the Shen Neng 1 as a possible cause of the accident, The Australian reports.

Investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) boarded the ship yesterday to interview the captain and crew members about why the ship had veered dramatically off course into a protected part of the reef.

"Fatigue is something we are looking at in this incident," an ATSB spokesman said.

He said crew members had been co-operative.

The federal investigators had wanted to board the ship on Monday, but were held off for a day by Queensland authorities, who wanted to maintain co-operation with the crew during the most delicate part of the operation.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he was open to the idea of putting pilots on all vessels going near the Great Barrier Reef.

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown yesterday called for a royal commission into the grounding of the Shen Neng 1, as the Maritime Union of Australia said it had long been clear that foreign-flagged ships were renowned for taking short-cuts through the environmentally sensitive waters of the Great Barrier Reef.

- With the Courier-Mail, The Australian and AAP

Arapahoe

10 Apr 10, 08:10

Originally posted by Clivebenss:

location at the southern tip of Swain Reefs; the ocean current will break up the spill. Not in grave danger to spill and cause big damage to the reef as reported.

Coral community takes hundred and thousand of years to growth into a size that is effective filter. If it is that easy Singapore Coral would have not die down.

So your notion in "not in grave danger to spill and cause big damage" is having the same mentality as the Captain.

Clivebenss

12 Apr 10, 06:13

Originally posted by Arapahoe:

Coral community takes hundred and thousand of years to growth into a size that is effective filter. If it is that easy Singapore Coral would have not die down.

So your notion in "not in grave danger to spill and cause big damage" is having the same mentality as the Captain.

If the ship is in the Great Barrier Reef yes, that will be disasterous. However it's off Great Keppel Islands which is a long way off the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef (Swain Reefs) and facing the open Coral Sea.

I understand your concern but sometimes if you are not familiar with that area, your assumption that the ship is in GBR which is not. I had been in and out of that passage (Capricorn Channel) many times and hence my comments.