Related: Anger and Australia
"Grounded ship is towed away, but left 2-mile gash in Barrier Reef" by Associated Press | April 14, 2010
SYDNEY — A Chinese coal carrier rocked back and forth over a section of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef after running aground, inflicting a gash 2 miles long into a shoal that will take 20 years to heal. A leading marine scientist called it the worst damage he’s ever seen to the world’s largest coral reef.
The 755-foot Shen Neng 1 veered into protected waters and ran aground on Douglas Shoal on April 3, immediately leaking two to three tons of fuel when coral shredded its hull. The ship was lifted off the reef Monday after crews spent three days pumping fuel to lighten it. Salvage crews towed it to an area near Great Keppel Island, 40 nautical miles away. Its refloating left a scar 1.9 miles long and up to 820 feet wide.
No sutures or surgeon going to patch that up.
“There is more damage to this reef than I have ever seen in any previous Great Barrier Reef groundings,’’ scientist David Wachenfeld said yesterday.
The oil that first leaked from the hull was quickly dispersed by chemical sprays and is believed to have caused little or no damage. Small amounts of oil, however, have begun washing up on beaches near where the ship ran aground, according to Maritime Safety Queensland.
Well, at least the oil was cleaned up for the most part.
The Great Barrier Reef is a World Heritage site because of its gleaming waters and environmental value as home to thousands of marine species. The accident occurred on the southern tip of the reef. The reef was hit particularly badly because the vessel did not stay in one place once it grounded, Wachenfeld said. Instead, tides and currents pushed it along the reef, crushing and smearing potentially toxic paint onto coral and plants, he said.
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Potential defense available, no?
"Australia arrests two ship’s officers over reef crash" by Meraiah Foley, International Herald Tribune | April 15, 2010
SYDNEY — Australian police arrested two senior crew members yesterday who were in charge of the Chinese coal vessel that ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef last week, causing serious damage to one of the world’s most famous coral outcroppings.
The Chinese captain and chief officer on watch during the April 3 accident were charged with damaging a protected marine environment after an investigation found that the freighter, Shen Neng 1, had strayed from its intended course.
Officials have said it could take up to 20 years for parts of the reef to recover, which has prompted widespread calls for more stringent controls on commercial vessels in Australian waters. The scar the ship made on the reef is 1.9 miles long and up to 820 feet wide.
But it will recover!
The 47-year-old shipmaster, whose identity was not immediately made public, was charged with being liable for a vessel causing damage in a marine park, an offense that carries a maximum fine of $51,200. The ship’s 44-year-old chief officer was charged with the more serious breach of being in charge of the vessel at the time the accident occurred. He faces a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of up to $205,000.
The two men were expected in court today in Gladstone, a town near the center of Australia’s eastern coast. The Australian Federal Police executed a search warrant on the ship yesterday, the culmination of a joint criminal investigation involving state and federal authorities, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority....
Lawmakers have accused the ship’s officers of taking a shortcut through the reef to shave time off the two-week journey from eastern Australia to China. The Chinese freighter was carrying 72,000 tons of coal when it ran aground.
Oh, the Chinese Valdez, 'eh?
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If you can get past the frogs you can get to the mines.
Oddly related: It's Always Quietest Before the Quake
