Oil spill ship's owners misled us: Australia

Yahoo News 15 Mar 09;

MELBOURNE (AFP) – The operators of a ship that spilled oil along the popular tourist beaches of northeast Australia misled authorities about the extent of the disaster, the state government said Sunday.

Officials initially believed the Hong Kong-flagged "Pacific Adventurer" had lost 20-30,000 litres (5,300-7,900 gallons) of oil but it has since emerged that almost a quarter of a million litres spilled from the vessel.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, whose government has been accused of reacting too slowly to the disaster that has blackened dozens of beaches, said the ship's operators had not been candid about how much oil it was carrying.

"Without a doubt, we were misled early by the operators of this ship about how much oil was in the water," she told ABC television.

With a state election looming in Queensland next Saturday, Bligh defended efforts to clean up in the wake of the spill, which occurred early last Wednesday when the ship hit heavy seas whipped up by a cyclone.

She said there was no point in clearing the oil that was fouling beaches until it had finished washing ashore.

"I can understand people think it's a good idea to get out there from day one and start cleaning up," Bligh said.

"But the reality is we still have oil coming onto the beach. You don't take it off the beach until you know it's all there otherwise we are stripping layer and layer of sand that has already be eroded by cyclonic activities."

The ship's owner Swire Shipping denied lying about the amount of oil that has spilled.

It said the initial estimates proved incorrect because they took into account only one hole in the ship's hull, unaware there was a second, larger hole below the waterline that allowed more oil to escape.

"At all times the master and officers of the ship and its owners have supplied the authorities with the best information available," the company said in a statement.

Swire faces 1.5 million dollars (977,000 US dollars) in fines if found guilty of environmental or maritime breaches and has already said it will cover the costs of the clean up.

The cargo ship also lost 31 containers -- or 620 tonnes -- of ammonium nitrate fertiliser, which authorities will attempt to locate with sonar.

Apart from the oil damage, experts fear the fertiliser could cause harmful algal blooms, suffocate fish and kill natural habitats.

Hundreds of people are working to clean the beaches and save affected wildlife.

Creatures great and small surviving deadly oil spill
Glenis Green, The Courier-Mail 15 Mar 09;

Saving creatures, great and small, from the toxic oils spilled along the Sunshine Coast a week ago has become a delicate, painstaking job.

Volunteers and wildlife carers have united to wipe the deadly oil from the tiny claws of ghost crabs right up to the scaly skin of a venomous sea snake and the rugged shell of a green sea turtle.

Fears are rising that the pollution will have a far greater impact on marine and foreshore animals than initially thought.

Species ranging from grey nurse sharks, to turtles, dugong, dolphins and tiny creatures that live in the sand on the waterline are all expected to be impacted.

Pelicans have been hardest hit - with 17 currently being cleaned up and rehabilitated by wildlife officers. Others include pied oyster catchers, turtles and a sea snake.

Environment Protection Agency senior director Clive Cook said so far only about 30 birds or other wildlife had been impacted.

Mr Cook warned the ramifications of the oil spill on the ecosystem could drag on for more than a year.

"The more oil we can get out of the system the better it is, but obviously it does have a flow-on effect - if animals start to ingest oil, other animals eat those animals," he said.

Mr Cook said he expected the clean-up to take at least another week to 10 days but it could be longer.

"The initial report we received in terms of the quantity of oil discharged from the boat was 20 tonnes or something, and now we're finding it's well over 200, so that is an issue in itself," he said.

Mr Cook said more than 350 officers were helping with the clean-up, of which about 20 were from the EPA.

The first casualty received by the Australian Wildlife Hospital at Australia Zoo at Beerwah was a sea snake rescued from Marcoola Beach, coated in the sickly goo.

Hospital spokeswoman Carolyn Beaton said the snake had been picked by a concerned resident and taken to a Coolum vet clinic before being whisked down to the zoo's emergency clinic.

"It's very messy stuff and the best thing to use to get it off (animals) is actually dishwashing liquid," Ms Beaton said.

"So far the volume of animals seems to be manageable, but it may take one or two days for the real effects to be felt," she said.

At UnderWater World at Mooloolaba, general manager Julie Cullen said special attention was being reserved for turtle nests which were in the middle of hatching.

"People monitoring the nests along the coast are ensuring they are being caged so that they collect the baby turtles and bring them in here ... so they are not going out into the big seas and then swimming through the oil slick," she said.

The turtle hatchlings would be held until the waters had cleared and they could be released safely back into the wild.

Ms Cullen said there were big turtle nesting areas from Dickey Beach to Sunshine Beach and up through the Noosa National Park and the big seas whipped up by Cyclone Hamish were eroding the nesting sites as well.

"That oil slick is right across some of the most beautiful breeding grounds and marine parks that we have here on the coast so the potential for damage is significant and is being monitored," she said.

"At the moment people are bringing in animals like sea snakes and urchins and some can be poisonous, so we're asking them to call us in the first instance to find out whether they are safe to pick up or not and then we can contact the appropriate authorities. There are different groups trained to take care of different animals.

Anyone who finds injured or affected wildlife is being urged to call UnderWater World on 54586280 rather than try to move the animals themselves.