Australia arrests Chinese crewmen over reef ship

Talek Harris Yahoo News 14 Apr 10;

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian authorities on Wednesday arrested and charged the master and officer on watch of the Chinese coal carrier which ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef, damaging the famous marine park.

Australian Federal Police swooped on the men who were on board the Shen Neng 1, which rammed into a coral shoal at full speed on April 3 and spilled oil into the World Heritage listed reef.

"Investigations showed that the Shen Neng 1 failed to turn at a waypoint required by the intended course of the ship," police said in a statement.

The 47-year-old master has been charged with liability for a ship causing damage in the park, while the 44-year-old officer is charged with being in charge of the bulk carrier which ripped up part of a shoal and spilled oil.

The first man faces a fine of up to 55,000 dollars (51,000 US) and the second up to three years in prison and/or a 220,000 dollar fine, police said.

The men are in police custody and will appear in court on Thursday.

Australian officials have vowed to "throw the book" at those responsible for the grounding, which saw the Shen Neng 1 stranded for nine days on Douglas Shoal. The giant coal-carrier was refloated and towed away on Monday.

Heavy fuel oil leaking out of the giant ship, carrying 68,000 tonnes of coal to China, created a three-kilometre (two-mile) slick which was cleared with chemical dispersants.

The vessel also carved a kilometres-long gouge and plastered toxic paint from its hull over the delicate coral reef, which experts say could take 20 years to recover.

Officials revealed Wednesday that oil from the 230-metre (750-foot) Shen Neng 1 has washed up at a famed nature sanctuary, raising fears for birds and baby turtles.

Clean-up crews and environmental experts were helicoptered to North West Island, a breeding site for hundreds of thousands of seabirds and turtles, where small clumps of oil were found on a beach.

"It hasn't come ashore in large globules or carpets," Patrick Quirk, general manager of Marine Safety Queensland, told public broadcaster ABC.

"Our advice from the rangers on the island is that it's at the top of the tide line in patches, and that gives us some comfort."

Queensland's state transport minister Rachel Nolan said experts flying over the island had reported only a "very small amount" of oil.

A small oil slick, which officials said amounted to about five litres, was later removed from the nearby coral cay of Tryon Island and officials said they would continue to monitor other islands.

Conservationists describe North West Island as a globally important nesting site for seabirds and green and loggerhead turtles, which are currently hatching and travelling down the beach.

Darren Kindleysides, director of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said even small amounts of oil can affect wildlife.

"We're not talking about a supertanker going aground and releasing tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of oil," he said.

"But we are talking about oil reaching a coral cay which is globally important for seabird breeding and the nesting of green and loggerhead turtles.

"Unfortunately this is the time of year we have turtle hatchlings going down the beach... so that is a real concern."

Officials are probing claims ships ferrying Australia's booming resources exports to Asia are taking short-cuts through the world's biggest coral reef, which is already under pressure from rising sea temperatures and pollution.